The Mark of Athena and Kane Chronicles
by rainfall-star07
Summary: Hi! This story is about the Kanes appearing when the Greeks have just arrived at Camp Jupiter. They have to be sent back and Percy, Jason has to help them. But how can they help the Egyptians? Read please. :P READ CHAPTER 12 ! :
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. This is a story basically continued from The Son of Neptune but with Carter and Sadie jumping in as well. It also shows you a bit about what i think will be like in The Mark of Athena. :) Review and tell me how it is!**

**Percy**

Percy and Reyna made their way through the legion. The people parted for them. Percy felt nervous. What if something horrible happened and bloodshed occurred? He forced himself to push the thought away as he walked to the front of the legion.

The legion itself had stood in tight formation and looked ready to battle. Camp Half-Blood was less organized, but they took their fighting stances as well. The atmosphere was tense.

Then, five people came and stood a little further in front of the Greek group. He recognized Annabeth at once and his heart soared. He longed to run to her and hug her. He longed to smell that sweet scent and stare into those stormy gray eyes again. Annabeth was staring at him too. Her eyes shone with relief and longing as well. But he forced himself to stay put as he saw the guy called Leo, a pretty girl and a blonde guy step out next to her. The blonde was most probably Jason. He heard Reyna gasp beside him and found his new best friends, Hazel and Frank on his other side. He was thankful for their support.

The place was silent. The only sound was Tyson scraping the ground nervously and Ella whispering quotes. Percy stared into Jason's eyes and they both found an understanding for each other. They knew they had come for the same goal. To unite two which were once enemies.

Jason stepped forward. He had the air of a regal Roman statue and his blue eyes looked intense. "I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, leader of Camp Half-Blood." His voice was sure and firm. He raised his hand in Percy's direction, waiting for him to shake it. Some Romans gasped and Percy thought he heard Octavian mutter, "Traitor." But Percy taught the introduction was quite appropriate- after all, Jason was the leader of Camp Half- Blood now.

He looked at Reyna and she nodded. She knew he had to be the one to do this. So he took his step forward, consciously realizing that his friends in Camp Half- Blood were staring at him in awe. "I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, praetor of the twelfth legion of Rome." Percy hoped he had not messed up the Roman legion title. What an idiot that would make him sound like. Thank goodness, no one said anything, but mutters came from Annabeth's side. Percy shook Jason's hand. Silence was all around. Jason looked at Percy, "You know what we came for." He said. Percy nodded, "I do."

So nervously, Percy stepped forward again, but not to address his legion. He faced Camp Half-Blood. Jason nodded at him. "Hey, guys." Percy said, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. He saw a few and his heart calmed down. It's just my friends. He told himself, which wasn't entirely true. The whole camp was staring at him now, "Remember me, guys? Percy Jackson? I was your leader during the second Titan War. I led you up to Mount Olympus to defend the thrones of our gods." He waited for a response. It was silent for a moment, and Percy felt stupid. But then, one of the Stoll brothers, probably Travis called out, "How can we forget you, Percy? You saved us all! And you saved Olympus!" A cheer went up in the crowd and everyone followed. Annabeth was staring at him with shining eyes and her smile made him feel like he was melting.

Percy wanted to sigh in relief. At least they remembered him. Well, most of them anyway. He turned to the Romans, who were still tensed up, not influenced by the Greeks cheers, "And you guys should remember your old praetor, Jason Grace?" Percy felt bad saying 'old', as if he had stolen his title from him. Jason turned to his old friends. "I was sent to Camp Half- Blood, by Juno to learn the Greek's way so that we may be united, Greek and Roman. It was an exchange of two leaders." He glanced at Percy. "Percy was sent to you, Romans, to help you and also to find a way to unite us."

Octavian, always the brave one, spoke loudly, "How can we trust you? You…" But Jason cut him off, "I was praetor, Octavian. You still do not know the way I worked? Why would I betray my legion and feed you with lies?" His cold voice made Percy feel that Jason used to be a strict praetor and he shared his dislike for the augur. Octavian scowled, "And yet you abandoned us and became leader of another camp?" This time, Percy got irritated, "It was part of it, Octavian. We didn't abandon anything. What else will you be accusing us of next? That we were faking amnesia and seeking sympathy? If I were you, I'll keep my mouth shut because I don't even know half the things that happened on the way to Alaska nor anything that is happening right now." I glared at him, daring him to argue.

Jason glared as well. "The Greeks and the Romans must be united, that is for sure. Seven of the greatest demigods of all time must combine to defeat Gaia. I'm sure all of you have heard the prophecy before." Many nodded. Percy faced them, trying to look at all of them in the eye, "We have to fight together." He insisted, "If not, the world will fall, and Gaia will kill us all. The Titan War would seem like a cat fight compared to what Gaia has planned."

Percy held up his hand. "We may have been enemies for eons, but that can change. It has to change, for all our sakes. The smooth exchange of leaders ensured that the two camps can be united. We aren't that different. We are all sons, daughters or have relations to the gods, regardless of whether they are Roman or Greek." Percy said, trying to read their expressions. "I agree with this." Jason spoke. There was nothing but silence.

"I swear, on the River Styx, that I am doing this for all of us. I shall not fight without reason, and I shall not fight my own brothers and sisters, Roman or Greek as long as they are fighting on the right side." Percy said with total dedication.

Jason raised his head. "I swear to fight alongside my friends- Greek or Roman, as long as they still stand for goodness. I swear to support them and their leader- Percy Jackson. I swear it on the River Styx."

They shook hands, and thunder rumbled across the sky.

Then, a war cry broke out in the two groups. Instead of Greek, or Roman, they all shouted, "For the gods!" The cheer grew louder and it took a long time to stop. When it did, Percy and Jason smiled grimly, "You've got a deal. Welcome to Camp Jupiter." Percy said, as he shook Jason's hand.

That would have made Percy's day, but something else had to happen.

Suddenly, a boy and a girl appeared from thin air. Literally. Something seemed to have opened up before they arrived, but it was gone so quickly Percy couldn't see it. The two looked up, shocked to see new faces. Immediately, swords were drawn. Percy raised Riptide cautiously, with Jason right beside him. "Who are you?" he asked, giving them his trained wolf glare. They seem to cower a little before him. The girl held out a powerful looking staff. She looked thirteen. The boy, who looked nothing like her, was around my age. He was smarter. He stepped out and called out, "My name is Carter Kane. This is my sister, Sadie. We come in peace." Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "Kill them!" A voice yelled. "Tear them!" At these shouts, the boy narrowed his eyes and drew a sword from the air.

The crowd growled.

Jason raised his gladius, "Keep quiet!" and the whole camp listened. "Are you demigods?" He asked the two cautiously. The boy cocked his head, confused, "Demigods? Are you asking whether we are related to gods?" he asked.

"Not exactly. But are you?"

Carter looked at his sister. "Yes, we are. We are descendants of two powerful families. I am studying the path of Horus whereas Sadie is studying the path of Isis." This made no sense to Percy, but the name Horus seemed familiar. The crowd grew restless again. Carter looked nervous, "We are blood of the Pharaohs. We are related to- Hold it, is that a gladius?" His question caught Jason off guard.

"Of course it is."  
>Carter looked excited. "Gladius and roman toga. If I'm not mistaken, you are the Romans?" The crowd roared in disapproval. Percy raised my hand to keep them quiet. "Yes, some of us are anyway. Who are you?" Percy repeated, grasping my sword tightly. Sadie, the girl spoke timidly, "Kane. We are children of Egypt."<p>

Silence was all around. Percy was shocked. Egypt? More gods? Oh no… No wonder the name Horus sounded familiar. Chiron must have mentioned it somewhere in high school. Egyptian mythology.

Everyone was looking at Percy now. Since this was his territory, he knew he had to make a decision. Percy took a deep breath. "Carter and Sadie Kane, you will follow me. Jason, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Grover, come as well. The rest, follow Reyna." He looked at her and in a low voice, he said, "Bring them and let them eat. Afterwards, come to your praetor's house. I need you." He didn't want her to feel like he was bossing her around. Reyna nodded, understandingly.

"Everyone, there will be no fighting. You will wait for the praetor's decision before you act." Percy ordered. They looked displeased, but none of them protested. Then,

An unpleasant idea crossed his mind. Scowling, Percy called out, "Octavian, come with me. I want to see you in the praetor's room." With that, he managed to sweep his cape behind him coolly and led the chosen group to the praetor's house.

**I'll try to update as soon as possible. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. Thanks for your reviews. I'll try to make Sadie a little fiercer. Haha. Please review and tell me how this chapter is!**

All of them followed Percy as he brought them to the Via Principalis. Since his own was unused, he decided to use Reyna's praetor house. The minute he opened the door, her dogs barked. "Stay back." He ordered. They did so, but still glared at the company fiercely. There were only two chairs, so they all stood. Even Octavian came, which surprised Percy. He had only called him along because he wanted him where he could see him and not causing trouble between the Greeks and the legion. All that while, Jason looked around the place sorrowfully, as if remembering his time in here. Percy couldn't help wondering why Leo's fingers kept fiddling in his pocket. Hazel was staring at Leo and Frank seemed uncomfortable next to her.

Then, he noticed Annabeth staring at him expectantly. Percy couldn't suppress himself anymore. He hugged Annabeth. She hugged him back tightly; as if afraid he would disappear any minute. "I missed you." She whispered. "So did I." He said. After 30 seconds or so, they let go and Percy smiled. Everyone was trying hard not to look in his direction, everyone except Octavian.

Then, he cleared his throat. Back to business.

"Carter Kane? Please tell me your story. Where are you from?" Percy sat in one of the chairs and beckoned at Jason to sit in the other. Jason sat and stared at the newcomer. He had windblown dark hair and he wore something that looked embarrassingly like a white pyjamas. The girl was dressed similarly, but she had really horrible dyed hair. Carter held a sword which was shaped like a crescent moon. They both had amulets around their necks, which did not match with their pyjamas.

Carter frowned, "Wait, before I tell you my story. Can you tell me where we are?"

Percy drummed his fingers. These were strangers, should I tell them? He thought. Then Jason spoke, "It's the headquarters of the Roman civilization nowadays. I am sure you have one on Egypt too, right?"

Carter frowned deeper. "If you mean a Nome, yes."

"A gnome? Those small creatures?"

"No. It's Nome. N-O-M-E."

Percy rubbed his forehead. "This is going to be hard. But please, tell us your story. Oh and um, the dogs bite if you're not telling the truth. So…"

Carter glanced at the dogs and swallowed nervously. Then, he spoke, "We are part of the Egyptian civilization. We are related to gods, yes, but we are mortals. We fight a monster of chaos called Apophis. Have you heard of him?"

"No." Percy said, but Annabeth spoke up, "I have read about it before. Apophis is the chaotic monster. He is the enemy of the sun god Ra. He is always seen as a serpent."

Percy looked amazed. Sadie nodded, "Yes, he is only afraid of Ra, who at the moment is senile, unfortunately."

"What?" Percy raised an eyebrow, but Carter shook his head, "That's another story. But anyway…"

"So you have powers, don't you?" Jason asked.

He glanced at his sister. "Yes, we do. We have to study paths of the gods, to learn to control our gifts. We learn to control our powers and use them for the good. We have magical weapons, such as staffs and wands."

Since the dogs didn't attack, Percy believed Carter. "How did you get here?" He asked and knew he had struck a raw nerve. Carter's face darkened. "We were going to Cairo to visit our uncle. He works in the House of Life- a place where they train people like us. We got there and suddenly, something horrible happened." He took a deep breath, as if it were too horrible to continue. Then, his sister spoke up, "The whole place exploded and a huge serpent appeared. He devoured everything and destroyed the House. We think it's Apophis and he has been unleashed."

"Wait, unleashed? He was trapped?" Percy asked.

"Yes, he was trapped in a… prison. He is the embodiment of chaos. With him out in the world, doomsday is probably close." She shivered. "We are not sure what happened, but I think our uncle managed to draw up a portal and send us somewhere. Well, we ended up here."

This story was quite hard to believe. Even Jason scratched his head. Percy had to believe them because the dogs had not attacked and Annabeth was nodding her head. Another monster that could cause the end of the world? Just what I needed, he thought.

"Is it possible to open a portal to another place?" Percy asked, more to Annabeth. She shrugged. "Myths may be wrong sometimes, Percy. But I think she's telling the truth." Percy agreed silently.

"Well, since you have told your part of the story, I think we need to tell ours. We are the children of the Roman and Greek gods." Percy stood up and he paced.

"Whoa, direct children?" Carter asked, impressed.

"Yes. One of our parents is a god and the other is a mortal. We are also mortals. We have powers as well, but it differs according to our godly parents." Percy tried to explain it. Carter nodded, even though he looked confused.

"Carter, we also have our own mission. We need to fight some giants who are going to try to destroy the gods, so yeah… I don't think we can help you." Percy said this sincerely, staring at Carter and Sadie. He really couldn't afford to send anyone away with this big battle in Greece coming so close.

Carter bit his lip. Percy could tell he was in a dilemma. "I need to get back to Cairo, but the problem is that I've no clue how to get there and I've no money for aeroplane tickets. I've tried the Duat, but I can't open a gateway here." Carter said.

"Duat?" Percy asked, well aware that the rest of the people were growing restless waiting. Just then, a bored Octavian took out a random stuffed teddy and cut it open. His eyes opened in surprise, "Something important is about to happen. Like in one minute or so." He said.

"You better hope it's not me going there and strangling you." Percy looked up, irritated. Octavian snorted. "No, idiot. You hardly count as something important. No, it's a-"

"Hello, campers."

**Ooh, a cliffhanger. Guess who it is? Stay tune and find out in the next chapter! Reviews~ please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys! Thanks again for your reviews! The next chapter is up! Oh, I almost forgot to add this: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Kane Chronicles, as much as I might want to! Enjoy! **

**Jason**

They saw a lady appear before them. The goatskin cloak, oh no, it's her. Jason frowned.

"Hera." Percy drew his sword. "What do you want?" His voice was hostile.

"Juno, if you don't mind." Juno waved her hand dismissively. Annabeth growled. "You! You irritating, crazy-" Juno rolled her eyes, "Let off the insults, will you? I did it for all of us. Oh, the Egyptians! You must be Carter and Sadie." She spoke to the pair of them, who looked absolutely freaked out.

"Why are you here, Juno?" Jason asked. "Do you know them?"

Juno smiled at him, "No, of course I don't. Why don't we all go down and meet the other campers? I'll see you there." With that, she disappeared.

"I was right!" Octavian gloated.

"Who was that?" Carter spluttered. "A goddess?"

"Her majesty the Queen of Heavens and cows." Percy said, clearly not liking her.

"Cows?"

"I heard that. Get down here!" Juno's irritated voice came out of nowhere.

When they got down, Juno had already gathered everyone. She smiled as if she had just won a lottery. "Demigods." She greeted them. Everyone followed Reyna's example as she bowed. Only Percy, Annabeth and Jason stayed standing up. "We have, in our midst, a couple of Egyptian kids. They-" She was interrupted by Leo, who came yelling. "Hey, who sabotaged my dragon?" He looked absolutely furious. "What happened?" Jason asked, anxiously. They couldn't afford to lose the dragon now! "Someone ruined it! Someone meddled with it and now it's all wrong! I need to fix it." Leo glared. "Don't let me find out who did it!"

Jason was a little alarmed as Leo had started smoking. "Easy. How long will it take for you to fix it?" He tried to say it calmly.

"A few days. At least three." Leo said, clenching his fist.

Juno seemed unsurprised. "Three? Let's make it five. As I was saying, Carter and Sadie have to be sent back to wherever they came from. We have to help them." This brought on a lot of protests. "Help? Why don't you just send them back?" Percy said. Juno frowned, "Surely Percy, you know by now that a god cannot interfere? But we have to spare a few days anyway, since Leo's dragon boat needs to be repaired. So why not help them?" This made sense to Jason. But Juno looked overly eager to help.

"Besides, someone here wants to talk to you." She added. Then, Juno's image shimmered and someone replaced her. Someone with a falcon head. "Horus?" Carter exclaimed. Horus looked at him, "Carter and Sadie, there is no time to lose. You have to get back here. But because you are beyond the Egypt civilisation, I cannot help you. Apophis has risen. We need you." He spoke in a deep voice. His image flickered. "Gather all the magicians!" Sadie said, "You need help!"

Horus shook his head. "No, girl. I just need you and Carter. Come back. I'm counting on the goddess to lend you some help." With that, Juno shimmered back into view. "You know him?" Carter asked, shocked. Jason was surprised too. A Roman and an Egyptian god? How?

Juno shrugged, "No, for one, I don't know him well. But gods should help between each other, yes? I cannot ignore his request for help. But, we only have a few days. So a quest is issued!" She looked around at the campers.

"A quest? We just got back from one." Percy grumbled, but Jason could tell he wanted to help the Egyptians. It was just that the timing was all wrong. What if they sabotage their own mission by helping Carter and Sadie?

Juno glared at him, "You have five days. Bring them back to where they belong. See them there safely. And if you need, help to fight the chaos monster. Jason, Percy, you shall lead this quest. Piper and Annabeth, you will follow as well. You should leave at high noon." She swept her cloak behind her. She didn't wait for any agreements. "Thank you, my lady." Carter said, looking up. Juno nodded. Annabeth looked ready to slap the goddess, but she held back.

Jason didn't know why Juno had to risk it. "Juno, are you sure you want us to do this? You want us to dump everything and help them? I want to help, yes, but is it worth it?" It probably sounded harsh to Carter and Sadie, but Jason had to ask.

Juno faced him, her eyes flashing uncertainty for a moment. "Yes, Jason. We gods must give help when asked, even if it means interfering with the other civilisations. Besides, it's another end of the world thing. We have to stop it or the monster might even take sides with Gaea and cause us even more trouble. Do you understand now?"

Jason did, but he didn't like it.

Juno smiled once more, "Farewell, my heroes. You have done well uniting the two- Greek and Roman. Now you need to help others who are in need." With that, she disappeared. This brought on such a huge amount of noise that Jason and Percy had to yell together to quieten them. "Reyna, you're in charge." Percy said to her. Reyna looked at Jason and he felt guilty. Reyna looked and acted strong, but deep inside, she was just another girl. "You won't be alone." Percy added, misinterpreting Reyna's expression. "You have Hazel, Frank and Leo. They'll be of great help." Reyna nodded reluctantly.

Jason looked away from her and forced himself to smile, "So are we in it?" He asked. Carter and Sadie looked at the group of them and Sadie spoke, "Guys, you don't have to come if you don't want to. It doesn't matter what Juno said." "I know, but we want to help. She had a point anyway. Leo's boat will take days to repair." Jason said and Percy nodded.

"But we don't know what we're up against at all." Annabeth said, quietly.

Piper stood next to Jason, "Can you tell us about your enemies?" She asked Sadie.

"Well, we have monsters like vulture goddesses, crocodile gods. And magicians. The worst enemy is Apophis himself."

Percy stroke his chin, "I want to see how you guys fight." He declared. "We have a few more hours before high noon. Up for a fight?" His eyes twinkled. Carter looked nervous, "Fight?"

Minutes later, they found themselves in the Field of Mars. Percy and Jason stood with Carter and Sadie in the centre of the field. Piper and Annabeth watched from the side of the field along with some other campers.

"Show us what you can do. Show us what to expect." Percy told them as he took off his cape and tossed it to Annabeth. They nodded. Sadie took out a chalk and drew a circle around her. She touched the staff to the circle and it glowed. Suddenly, Carter rose off the ground. A golden holographic shell surrounded him. He raised his crescent shaped sword and the giant image of him did likewise. "Uh, is that still Carter?" Percy called out. He gripped Riptide. Sadie nodded.

Carter's avatar raised his sword and slammed it down on Jason. Jason rolled out of the way and the sword left a crack on the ground. Whoa. He summoned a blast of lightning at Carter. It shocked him and his avatar formed flickered. Jason circled him cautiously. What was this? Magic?

Jason raised his gladius. He summoned the winds and they levitated him. He rose a few feet from the ground. He slashed out at Carter's armour, but that left only a scratch. Jason nearly fell when Carter raised his sword to hit him again. Jason could see Carter's weakness. As much as he was big, his movements were pretty slow and clumsy. Percy joined in then, he raised his hand and the Little Tiber flowed to his will. Percy made a grabbing motion with his hand and the water obeyed, throwing the avatar to the ground. Carter got up quick enough, but Jason was ready. He faked a strike and rolled between the avatar's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting with all his might and slash the avatar in the small of his back. He didn't slash deep, not enough to hurt Carter but the avatar collapsed. Carter fell, but before he reached the ground, he turned into a falcon. It flew at Jason and hit him hard in the head. Jason saw stars. Then, Sadie came out of nowhere. "Ha-wi!" She yelled and a golden symbol exploded in Jason's face. He fell to the ground, but managed to roll and not break his bones. Percy slashed Riptide but was blocked by an unseen protection field around her. Sadie's eyes were flashing. She raised her staff. A golden symbol appeared in front of Percy and Jason and suddenly it exploded in golden light. It flung Jason and Percy to the ground. Then, Sadie threw her staff at them mercilessly. It turned into a lion halfway and it roared, bounding towards the two boys. Whoa! Jason got up and nodded at Percy. He wondered why they understood each other perfectly when they hadn't even met before that. The lion came at full speed…

Percy took the left flank and Jason took the right. Slash! The lion evaporated.

"That was great!" Percy said, panting. "But I think we're ok for now."

Carter got up and stretched. "Ouch," He said. "Jason, that lightning hurt." Jason grinned, "You all right? I didn't hit your back too hard, I hope." Carter shook his head. "You just hit the avatar. But don't worry, when you come to the real fight, you won't be fighting too many avatars. At least I hope so."

Percy grinned at Sadie, "You got a temper! Nice staff. Magic huh?"

Sadie blushed slightly, but she hid it with a grim smile, "I thought you were going to kill Carter! That water thing was cool too."

Cheers came from the spectators. "So is that what we are going to face?" Percy asked, lightly. Carter nodded, "And much worse."

On that happy note, they went to pack for their quest.

**How did you like that? Review and tell me! I'll update as soon as possible. Happy Halloween! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the late update, I have been quite busy! Anyway, this is an extra-long chapter to make up for it. Enjoy Sadie's POV!**

**Sadie**

Sadie went with her brother. For the first time in her whole life, she actually felt terrified to the core. She never felt this horrified before, not even when she was riding Ra's sun boat, thinking that the world was ending. Here she was, in an unknown land, with only her brother. She didn't understand why Amos would send them here.

And then there was this goddess, Juno. Sadie didn't like her much, but she seemed kinder than Isis herself. Isis wouldn't help others. Having shared the same body with her, Sadie knew.

The exciting and a little scary part was when they had to fight Percy and Jason. Sadie wasn't scared of them. But she didn't know that they were both quite powerful. Sadie was amazed to see Percy's sword whirl so skilfully and also Jason summoning the lightning. Okay, maybe she was also admiring their cute faces. But, for a moment there, she also thought that they were going to kill her brother. Jason had hit Carter down, with Percy by his side. It was two-on-one. That blew her off. The spell Ha-Wi just came to her head so naturally. And that burst of golden light? She would never have been able to do that if she wasn't so angry. She felt powerful, and she knew it was because of her protectiveness towards her brother, not that she was going to tell him that.

"Do you think Apophis has really risen?" This had been worrying Sadie a lot. Carter looked at her straight in the eye "I don't think we have any other choice but to believe it." He said. "Desjardins bindings couldn't hold him back any longer." Carter looked sober.

Sadie clenched her fists. If Doomsday was close, it sure didn't affect the Roman camp. The sky was still as bright as ever and the sun shone down brightly. No giant serpent was seen trying to swallow the sun.  
>"I hope Amos is still alive." Sadie said, quietly. They sat at the side of a well. Carter didn't answer for a moment. They both knew it was a slim chance. Even if Amos did survive the explosion, he had channelled most of his energy to create that portal. Amos probably even needed to tap his own life force to create that portal without an obelisk or Egyptian artefact nearby. He could have easily run out of energy.<p>

"Where is the nearest obelisk anyway?" Carter asked. They needed one to get to Cairo. Sadie didn't understand why Carter couldn't summon a gateway through the Duat there in the camp. Maybe there was no such thing in the Roman world?

"I'm not sure. But any other Egyptian artefact can work. So what's our plan? We fly straight to Cairo? Or do we find an obelisk, create a portal to Cairo? Then?"

Carter shrugged, "Either way, we gotta find the remnants of the First Nome. Save any survivors." He looked solemn.

Then, Sadie asked the question that has been troubling her. She looked around before lowering her voice, "Do you think that they can help us defeat Apophis?" She didn't need to tell Carter who 'they' were. She fervently hoped they could, because they needed all the help they could get. And she can't help thinking that that Percy dude looked a bit like Anubis…

_Focus, Sadie._ She scolded herself. _Save the world first, and then think about your crush._

To her surprise, Carter nodded confidently, "Yes. They can. But…" he hesitated, "I have an idea, Sadie…" he began, but he was interrupted by Annabeth. "You ready?" She had a backpack slung over her shoulder. "Uh- yeah." Carter looked at her as if she were a goddess. Sadie couldn't help rolling her eyes. But honestly, Annabeth did scare her a little. She had this warrior like body and her eyes seemed to burn into her soul.

"Where are we now? New York?" Sadie asked. Annabeth shook her head, "No, we're near San Francisco." Then, the black haired girl came over. What was her name again? Piper? She looked at Carter and smiled, "That avatar thing was pretty cool." She told him. Carter blushed, "Um. T-Thanks." He said. Typical Carter, Sadie thought. Stuttering around girls. Piper also turned to Sadie, "You're like a daughter of Hecate herself. Her kids are also into exploding things and turning stuff into living things." "Thanks, I guess." Sadie said, wondering who Hecate was.

Sadie looked up and saw Jason and Percy headed their way. Percy had changed out of his bed sheet into normal jeans and a shirt. Sadie instantly felt self-conscious that she was wearing something that resembled white pyjamas. Once again, she cursed the House for forcing her and Carter into those clothes. They almost made her take off her combat boots too, but Sadie glared at them and refused blatantly.

"You want to change out of those?" Annabeth saw her squirming face and tossed her a pair of jeans and t-shirt from her backpack. "Thanks." Sadie was grateful. Jason gave Carter a change of clothes as well. He brought them to the bathroom and Sadie changed. She felt better instantly. She trashed the pyjamas into a rubbish bin on her way out.

When she was walking back to meet Percy and the rest, she caught sight of the girl Reyna and Jason. "I'm sorry, Reyna." Jason was saying. Reyna looked pained but she nodded, "If we had more time, things might have been different. But I understand… I do. I-I wish you luck, Jason." She hesitated before kissing him on the forehead. She then turned and walked away miserably. Sadie hurried away, embarrassed. She ought not to have heard that conversation. Jason was probably Reyna's ex-boyfriend or something.

She went to join her circle of new friends. Carter was already there. An elfish-looking boy was hugging Piper, who said, "Don't worry. You'll be all right. We'll miss you loads." he then tried to smile, mumbling before walking away. Percy was smiling with Annabeth, as if they were reminiscing the old times. Jason came a moment later, looking troubled.

"So here's the plan." Carter explained. "We board a plane straight to Cairo. "The First Nome, our headquarters is under the Cairo airport."

"A plane? How long will that take?" Sadie didn't understand why Percy looked so pale.

"About 16 hours." Carter said. "There is another way, though." He said when he saw Percy's horrified face.

"We can take a plane straight to Washington DC, to the nearest obelisk and the most powerful one in the United States. We can create a portal there straight to Cairo." Carter said.

"Why don't we take the second option? Surely it's faster." Piper said. Sadie shrugged, "I think I know. With the rise of Apophis, the order of the universe, Ma'at, is probably crumbling. That might affect our powers and our abilities to create a portal as well. So, the second option is less reliable." Carter stared at amazement at his sister. She smiled proudly. "I didn't discuss that with you, but you knew." Carter said. Sadie smiled smugly, "That's because I'm smart. But we don't have any money to buy plane tickets." She added.

Carter grinned at that. "Ah, Annabeth found a whole bag of cash. It was most probably a gift from the goddess." He said the word 'goddess' like it was a magical word, but Annabeth scowled at it.

"I think the first option is better. Sorry, Percy." Annabeth looked at her boyfriend, who just nodded, biting his lip. "What happens after that?" Piper asked.

"Well, we fight." Carter said.

***…***…***

They managed to hail a taxi outside the Roman camp. Two taxis actually- Percy, Annabeth, Piper in one, Jason, Carter and Sadie in another. They made it to the San Francisco airport, which cost them an arm and a leg. Thank goodness Annabeth had that bag of money. Annabeth and Percy went to the ticket counter at once, while the rest of them went to McDonalds. Being able to eat McDonalds was so normal to Sadie that she could hardly believe it. They were halfway wolfing down their food when Annabeth and Percy came back with disappointed faces. "The Cairo airport has been closed due to some explosion. So, we did the next best thing." She gave them their tickets. "It's to Washington DC. Guess we're taking the second option. The flight is in two hours' time." Sadie nodded gloomily. The explosion was probably the same one that caused the First Nome to collapse.

After they finished their food, they checked in and sat in the waiting lounge. There wasn't anyone else there. The TV was reporting news. "We've live reporters reporting from Cairo. The explosion there has been quite a shock, and the number of casualties has yet to be confirmed. The Cairo airport has been closed due to the explosion…" This depressed Sadie to no end. Was Amos alive? Was Zia, the girl of Carter's dreams?

Percy and the rest couldn't relax as well. They kept looking around as if they were expecting someone. "Why are you guys so restless?" Sadie was curious. Jason looked at her warily. "We're always attacked when we stay somewhere for too long. Especially when so many demigods are together." Sadie was about to ask what demigods were, when the door to the waiting lounge opened. A woman who was heavily veiled and wore a pair of sunglasses stepped into the room. She seemed quite graceful, walking across the room with barely a sound. "Hello, kids. Is this the flight to Wisconsin?" Her voice sounded sweet but fake to Sadie, layered with honey. She spoke with an accent that sounded like Middle Eastern to Sadie. Percy looked up cautiously, "No."

"Are you sure? I was quite certain that it was."

"It's not." Percy raised his voice. Sadie seemed to hear a distinct ss-ss sound, as if there were things slithering about near the woman. She didn't like it. Then, the woman smiled at Percy, "Why, Percy, isn't that rude of you? Shouldn't you introduce me to your new gang?" She gestured at the rest of them.

Percy growled and got up, drawing a pen from his pocket. He uncapped it and it grew into a blade. Cool, Sadie thought.

"Medusa. You should have stayed in Tartarus." Annabeth got up as well, growling. The rest followed. Carter and Sadie got up, drawing their weapons.

Medusa removed her head veil. Sadie stifled a scream. Medusa's hair was wriggling snakes! They moved, hissing at her. Sadie stumbled backwards. Why did it have to be snakes? Gods, I hate snakes, she thought sickeningly.

Medusa turned on them, "You have no idea how long I have dreamed of revenge, Percy Jackson!" Medusa snarled, a crazed smile on her face. Sadie wondered what Percy had done before. Pull out her snakes? "Don't look into her eyes, guys. Aim to cut off her head." Percy warned, ignoring Medusa.  
>Did she have such horrible eyes? Sadie wondered. Cut off her head?<br>Medusa glared at Percy, "You will not get close enough to kill me. I am not alone, Jackson. Did you think I will be foolish enough to come alone?"  
>Sadie didn't like the sound of that.<p>

She followed Medusa's gaze and her heart jumped into her throat. She could see through the glass wall of the waiting lounge. Outside the airport, there was a huge monster heading towards them. The monster had heads of serpents. Each of the heads moved in their own directions, snarling and spitting. It was scaring away the people who were boarding the planes. Most of them ended up fleeing from the ugly monster. Sadie gulped as its ugly serpent heads snarled in her direction.

Percy scowled at her, "A hydra? Your great-great-great grandson, is it?"

A hydra? Sadie asked silently as Medusa's snakes hissed even more viciously.

"Watch your tongue, Jackson." She snarled at him, "Gaia freed me and allowed me to try my hand at killing you all. I will not fail her." She growled at Carter and Sadie, who cowered a little. "And those two won't be spared. If Gaia combines forces with their monster of Chaos, the world will be hers!"

Sadie didn't know who Gaia was, but her friends' faces instantly darkened. "Oh, she sent you, did she? Well, I guess she expected you to fail, because you can't kill us!" Percy retorted and raised his blade. With a quick slash, he snapped off the head of a snake on Medusa's head. She howled as that snake shriveled up.

"I'll kill you, Son of Poseidon!" Medusa screamed. She ripped off her glasses as Annabeth shouted. "Look away!" Sadie turned away at once, without questioning. "Close your eyes, guys. Don't look at her. Sadie, can you summon a fire?" Annabeth was calling on her left. Sadie squeezed her eyes shut, "Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?" She could hear Medusa's snakes hissing close to her. She immediately closed her nose and mouth with her hand.

"Kill the hydra with fire. Burn its stumps after you cut off its heads." Annabeth whispered in Sadie's ear, "When I signal you, grab Piper and Jason." She added. Sadie gave a curt nod. She tensed, waiting, still with her eyes closed. She could hear her friends' heavy breathing around her and tried to remember where Jason and Piper were standing moments ago. Her heart pumped with adrenaline.

"Come out; come out wherever you are daughter of Athena." Medusa cackled. "I might not be able to see you, invisible girl, but I can sense you!"

"Now!" Annabeth bellowed. Sadie forced herself to open her eyes. Medusa was on the ground, pinned down by some unseen force. Her face was facing downwards, so her eyes were hidden.

Sadie ran to Jason and Piper, who both still had their eyes closed and half pulled them towards the glass wall. "Ha-di!" She yelled. A hieroglyph appeared and shattered the glass into a gazillion piece. The hydra's heads turned in their directions.

Jason's eyes flashed open, "Wh-hat?" Piper stared, too shocked to speak.

The hydra snarled and started to charge at them. Well, it was probably _trying_ to, with its short, waddling legs. Sadie probably would have laughed if it wasn't glaring at her, its many eyes burning straight into her soul.

As it drew closer, Piper stepped forward. Sadie was surprised. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see that Piper was not a fighter at all. But Piper spoke, "Stop!"

Sadie thought she had lost her marbles. Talking to a monster? Yup, definitely crazy.

The monster obviously didn't stop. For all Sadie knew, it skipped towards them even faster. Piper tried again, her multi-coloured eyes focusing, "Stop!" This time her voice seemed to vibrate through the open field. It sounded so melodious and commanding that the animal stopped in its tracks at once. Sadie blinked, thinking that her eyes were playing tricks on her. The hydra had stopped a few feet away from them, its heads still snarling. Piper smiled triumphantly, "Aren't your eyelids heavy? Sleep, monster." Her melodious voice even charmed Sadie and she had to force her eyes open.

Whoa, magic?

Piper started to move towards it, slowly and carefully. Jason and Sadie raised their weapons and followed. Piper's voice seemed to work; the monster's heads lolled and they didn't seem so alert anymore. But it could still swing its heads and spit at Jason when he got too close. Jason was fast but he couldn't dodge. The spit left a smoking hole in his shirt. "Acid." He hissed. "I'm fine." He reassured Piper, who was looking at him worriedly.

Sadie nodded at Jason, who raised his gladius again. "Sleep." Piper said so forcefully Sadie nearly succumbed to her voice. The hydra's heads lolled some more. Jason raised his weapon and Sadie turned away, feeling nauseous. There were a few sickening crunches, and when she turned again, all the heads were cut off.

"Burn it, quick!" Jason said. Shaking her head clear, Sadie hurriedly raised her staff. _Fire, _she thought. "A'max!" She commanded and the hieroglyph appeared over the hydra. It burned slowly at first, but Sadie willed it to be stronger and soon, it had the whole body of the hydra burning. Sadie was exhausted when she finally shut it off. She had never been a fire user and it did drain her quite a bit. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days.

"Look!" Piper's strangled voice came. She was staring at Medusa, who had her back against them. She was reaching out at nothing for a moment, but suddenly, she had grabbed Annabeth who had materialised out of thin air. Sadie hurried forward, ignoring Jason's warning. Carter was on the floor, with blood matting his head. _No, _Sadie wanted to yell. Percy had his eyes closed, but he was speaking, "Medusa, let her go. It's me you want."

Medusa cackled and that rose Sadie's fury. "No, I want this little girl too. I want you to watch her die, Jackson." She sounded absolutely wicked. Sadie raised her staff and thought, _great, there goes another staff._ She flung it at Medusa with deadly accuracy. Medusa's snakes turned and hissed at her. Medusa turned so quickly that Sadie barely had time to react. She stared into her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. Sadie felt her body turn rigid and heard Jason yelling somewhere behind her. She couldn't move her legs and her heart seemed to slow down, making her drowsy. Her vision blurred. Her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was _what the heck?_

**So, how was it? What will happen to Sadie? Will she be petrified? Or will she somehow be miraculously saved? Stay tuned and review please! I try to update as soon as possible! ;)**

**P.S. I don't own PJ or the Kane Chronicles!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's my next chapter. Sorry, I know it took kinda long again, because I was on a vacation. Read on. :)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything! :)**

Sadie was in the Hall of Judgement.

She had been there many times before. But Sadie was more scared than she had ever been in there. It used to be one place where she felt _safe. _

But not now.

The Hall seemed more broken than ever. The walls were chipped and for once the place reflected what it was- a place that was over million years old. Ammit the devourer sat at a corner, growling at her. The scales it guarded was broken once more. The whole place seemed even worse off than the first time she had been there, if that was possible. A chilly air blew around her and she shivered.  
>"Sadie."<br>She spun around. Her heart beat faster. In front of her stood pretty much the most charming boy ever. Sadie seemed to forget how to breathe for a moment.  
>Anubis surprised her by hugging her and nearly crushing her. Then, Sadie realised her ba was an image of herself in an orange t-shirt, a pair of jeans and her usual combat boots. She was glad she didn't have to be a chicken for once.<p>

"Sadie, I thought you were dead. I couldn't see you for so long and I couldn't sense you." he said, finally letting go. Sadie was too shocked to speak for a moment. Then she found her voice, "I don't think I'm any better now. Am I dead? Is that what the Medusa does? One look into her eyes and you will turn to stone? You will die?" her voice broke in the end. Reality hit Sadie hard in the face. She _had_ turned to stone just because she looked into someone's _eye_s. She _was_ dead, unable to help anyone, unable to defeat Apophis. She had thought that she would die in the many adventures before, but when now when she was really dead, Sadie didn't know what to feel. Sad? Angry? Disappointed?

Anubis gripped her shoulders, "That, I can help you with." He said, grimly. He wiped something wet from her cheek.

"You can? How, revive me?" Sadie demanded. Hope flared within her, but she dared not let it soar. After all, Anubis had never actually been the very helpful one.

"No, not really. With Ma'at crumbling again, the scales have once more been broken. Souls can't be judged and most of them find it hard to end up where they're supposed to go in the afterlife. So, it would be a simple matter to…" He trailed off then, looking troubled. His perfect eyebrows creased.

"What, Anubis? To what?" Sadie gripped his shirt unconsciously.

He seemed to take a deep breath. His beautiful yet mysterious eyes bored into hers, "I will not take your soul, your ren, Sadie." He said, as if that was supposed to make all the sense in the world.

Sadie was tongue-tied. "Not take it? What is that supposed to mean? You mean you won't let me be judged?" She asked when she finally found her voice.

"No, Sadie. I won't allow you to die. I will not open the gates and accept your soul into the underworld. Your soul will return to your body once more." Anubis touched her cheek. His hand felt cold against her skin. Sadie didn't know what to say. "How can you do that?" She whispered. "Isn't there a punishment or something for those who try to bring people back to life?"

Anubis shook his head unconvincingly, "There might be, but it doesn't matter now. I even have your father's permission. Osiris told me to warn you that in order to defeat Apophis, you must fight alongside the Romans and Greeks." Sadie was about to reply when suddenly everything disappeared. A thick fog entered her vision and Anubis was gone. For a moment, she seemed to be standing on the air, but a second later, everything came back. Anubis flickered back to sight and the crumbling hall returned. It happened so fast Sadie didn't have time to scream.

"What was that?" It was hard to hide the terror in her voice.

Anubis's eyebrows furrowed. "Leave now, Sadie. Ma'at is unstable. Go."

But Sadie still had a thousand more questions, "How do I defeat Apophis, Anubis? You have to tell me that, at least." She pleaded. Anubis flickered again. "The answer lies in the twenty-first Nome, Sadie. Go." His voice was fading. Anubis's hand brushed her cheek and he took a step back.

Sadie didn't understand, but she knew she couldn't ask anymore. Her heart pounding, she turned and willed her ren to float. For a second, she could hear Anubis's barely audible voice, "Don't die again, Sadie…" Then, she was floating away, her soul being blown away by some unseen force.

Sadie thought that she was going back to her body. She closed her eyes and let the tugging sensation pull her away. But suddenly something harsher pulled at her. Something unpleasant yanked at her, pulling her higher and higher, resisting the other gentler force. Sadie's eyes snapped open as she tried to fight it, but it was no use.

She arrived in a place that looked endless. It was red all around. Blood red, in fact. Sadie shivered. She could tell that this place was of _pure evil._ She willed her soul to move, but she couldn't even move a finger.

_Ss, the young magician has arrived._ A voice spoke into her mind.

Sadie jumped and tried to summon her staff, but to no avail. The snake like voice seemed to be gloating in her mind. Sadie was alone as far as she could see, but she could also tell that something horrible was lurking in the shadows. Her heart pounded madly.

_It's no use, little girl. I'm more powerful than you by a thousand timess. You will not escape unless I allow it. _The serpent in her head hissed.

"A-Apophis?" Sadie's voice echoed in the endless world. The name alone made her feel dread, like it was the end of the world. The dread filled her until she felt it as pointless to continue suffering, pointless to live.

_Don't! There are things to live for- Carter is waiting for you._ A voice at the back of her mind spoke. Sadie struggled to throw off the misery she felt, the despair that was crawling through her.

Then, out of nowhere, something stared at her. The more Sadie looked at it, the more she felt sure that she was staring at a pair of big eyes. They gleamed in the dark, like a serpent's would. It seemed to stare right through her soul, seeing her as who she was at the moment, scared and timid.

Sadie forced herself to think of something else. Anything to keep her going. Memories of her time with Carter, Bast and the rest of her trainees flowed through her. The memories seemed to flash across her mind—Carter in his holographic shell, Bast defending them by the river, Walt and her in the tomb. There was also one of Bes saving them from the baboon god. Seeing Bes made Sadie angry again.

The serpent voice in her head laughed, _you have spirit, girl. Maybe I won't kill you now. Maybe I'll keep you for my amusement._

Sadie glowered at the pair of eyes in front of her. "You can try!" She snarled. "Why did you bring me here, you ugly snake?" That remark took all of her courage to spit out, but the snake seemed more amused than anything. _Don't you know the dangers of ba travelling, little girl? If I kill you now, you die. _Sadie's heart lurched.

_But I brought you here so that you can send a little message to your friendss. Tell them I can save their useless livess if they are willing to make a deal with me._

"Deal? We won't make any deals!" Sadie bellowed at the eyes, feeling a little foolish at doing so. The eyes glowed a little. Then, plucking up all her courage, she decided to taunt the snake, "Why do you want a deal? Afraid you'll lose the battle?"

The sudden fury of the serpent nearly blew her mind. The endless place seemed to glow threateningly, like a bomb about to explode. Sadie wanted to scream, but nothing came out.

Then, Apophis seem to calm down, but his voice still seared Sadie's mind.

_You silly girl. I have already won. Soon, Chaos will rule the world and Order will crumble into nothing. Joining forces with Gaia will just make that day come even faster. So that is my deal. Let me work with Gaia, and I will spare your pitiful livess._

"N-Never!" Sadie yelled.

_Never? Did I also say that I will spare your entire family? Your father, your brother, and your closest friends?_

This seemed to take away Sadie's breath. Save her entire family? Save her friends? Isn't this what she wanted? But how could she be so selfish and sacrifice the entire world for it?

"I will not!" She bellowed, knowing that it was the right decision. She couldn't let the world die. Her family and friends will never forgive her.

The snake seemed to sense the turmoil in her mind, for it just smiled maliciously. T_he offer stands till the day we meet, young one. Until we start the battle between Chaos and Order, you will still have my offer._

Sadie was thinking about something sharp to answer back when she felt her ba being blown away. The unpleasant force blew her away from the endless red place. Sadie closed her eyes as Apophis's laughter echoed in her mind.

_Stupid snake. _Sadie thought.

***…***…***

"Sadie, oh gods, please tell me you can hear me."

Carter's voice sounded like thunder in her ears. She winced.

"Guys, she's moving! Sadie, wake up!" Carter's relieved voice shook her awake. Sadie blinked open her eyes and shut it back almost immediately. The sunlight burned her eyes and her head was pounding. Every part of her body ached. And her ears didn't seem to be working right. She could hear a weird humming noise in the background.

She forced her eyes to open a bit. She found herself staring at Carter's face, his eyebrows knitted in worry. Slowly, she willed her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight.

"Close the window, Carter." Another voice spoke. It sounded somewhat familiar. "Annabeth?" Sadie croaked. There was a noise and the bright sunlight disappeared. "Sadie, how are you feeling?" Annabeth was in front of her, peering over her seat.

"Like I've been microwaved several times." Sadie muttered. Her entire body ached and she felt absolutely ravenous.

Annabeth nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose that's all right after being turn to stone for several hours. But it doesn't' explain why you are alive at all! You're supposed to be dead." Her eyes pierced Sadie's and she found it hard to look away.

Sadie tried to sit up. Her vision blurred and she nearly passed out. "Whoa, watch it, sis." Carter steadied her and pulled her into a sitting position. Sadie then realised she had been lying on his lap and her face turned red.

"Where are we?" She asked, hoping that no one noticed her red face.

"We're on the plane." Carter shrugged, as if that were obvious.

"Plane?" Sadie tried to remember why they were here. First Nome. Amos. Explosion. Right. No wonder there were humming sounds.

"What happened? How did you live?" Jason peered at her. He was sitting right next to her in another row. Sadie took a deep breath. She told them everything, not even leaving out the part where Apophis made the offer to her. She tried to leave out the terror she had felt when she faced Apophis, but failed to. She noticed Percy was in front of her, next to Annabeth. His face was pale and he seemed tensed.

"I can't believe that monster made such a deal." Annabeth said. "Of course we wouldn't take it." The rest of them nodded at once, making Sadie feel guilty that she had hesitated on that decision.

"So have you got any idea how to defeat that creep? What is in the twenty first Nome?" Percy asked, looking at her intensely. Sadie turned to Carter, "I don't know. I was hoping you would." She admitted.

Carter frowned, "Maybe. I don't know. We need to check it out."

Then, an air stewardess walked past them. "Anything from the trolley, honeys?" She chirped, before her gaze landed on Sadie. Her face paled and she took a step back. "You… You…" she stammered.

Sadie gulped, wondering what was wrong.

"Hey, lady. You don't remember anything, okay? She's just a girl. She's our friend." Piper's melodious voice came. The stewardess' eyes became unfocused for a moment. "Yeah, you're just a friend." She mumbled.

"And you can get us some good food and hot drinks. It's on the house, isn't it?" Piper continued, smiling brightly. She was sitting next to Jason. The air stewardess' eyes then cleared. "Yes, of course it is." She said, like a robot and moved away.

"Nice one, Piper." Jason grinned.

Sadie turned to watch the stewardess. Then she realised in horror that there was no one else on the plane except them. "Why are we the only ones on the plane?" She demanded, turning back. Carter frowned, "The hydra scared the rest of them away. There were not many anyway."

"And why was that lady so scared? I don't look like I just came back from the dead, do I?" Sadie looked at herself. She thought she looked, well, normal.

Carter exchanged a glance with Annabeth. "What?" Sadie demanded.

"Well, you were turned to stone by Medusa. I mean, seriously stone. Then, we killed her. Jason and Piper distracted her. I turned into a falcon and somehow managed to claw her eyes out. Percy cut off her head. We had to wrap up the eyeballs afterwards because they might still petrify people. It was disgusting." Carter shrugged like it was no big deal, but Jason interrupted, "You should have seen your brother. He was as fast as lightning. Trust me, I know all about it." He winked at Sadie, who had no clue what he meant.

"You're kidding, Jason. Anyway, we had to drag you on board. We told the stewards you were a stone sculpture. They were all too glad to take off with us when they saw what damage the monster had done, so it was easy. We thought you were really dead, because Annabeth said…" Carter trailed off.

Sadie knew what he must have gone through. If Carter as the one who had turned to stone, she would have been at a lost, and spend what was left of her life living in a trance. She shivered at thinking how close she had been to death.

"Well, you started turning normal again when you came on board. It was like the stone was just another layer of your skin. It kinda just disappeared after a while." Annabeth said.

"Anubis saved you. Things must be worse than it seems." Carter speculated. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Well, we have a few hours before we reach Washington. So, I suggest we rest as much as possible." Percy announced, but he was grimacing. They turned back to their own seats.

Carter stared into Sadie's eyes. His face looked so deadly serious, at normal times she would have laughed. But considering what she had just gone through, she felt that she ought to be cherishing and appreciating her time with her brother.  
>"Don't ever die on me again, Sadie Kane." Carter growled.<p>

**A bit boring? But this chapter is pretty important. Don't worry; next chapter is going to have a lot more action! See you soon, guys. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Carter **

When Carter saw Sadie turn to stone, honestly, he wanted to drive a stake straight through Medusa's heart.

It was a most gruesome sight, watching his beloved sister go rigid and slowly turn into a statue. He was lying on the ground when he saw it happen, but new strength flowed through him as his anger and rage overtook him. He forced himself to calm down, because he knew Medusa was a formidable opponent.

Clawing out her eyeballs was the least painful option on Carter's list. He wanted her to _pay_ for taking his sister's life. But actually, he was really angry with himself for not being able to protect Sadie from Medusa. He didn't know whether he could live with himself for the rest of his life knowing that he might have been able to save her. He wanted to break down and cry then.

Then Sadie came back to life.

The fact that Anubis saved her was a great news but at the same time, very discouraging. If even the gods had turned to such desperate measures, things were not looking good.

The flight to Washington D.C seemed to take forever. Carter didn't sleep a wink, partly because he didn't like the idea of ba traveling after hearing Sadie's story. And also because he was too anxious of what he might find in Cairo. _Hold it! _His mind said. _You don't even know if you can get there!_

When their plane finally touched down at the airport, Carter and the rest were nearly too full to move. The stewardess had brought all kinds of food for them. Rice, noodles, biscuits, etc. Piper's charm really worked. The rest looked like they hadn't slept at all either. Well, all except Sadie, who fell asleep almost immediately after she came back to life and told her story. Percy looked like he was going to be sick.

While the aeroplane was being parked, Jason ignored the seatbelt sign and got up. "Piper, can you go wipe the pilot's and stewardess' minds? Make them forget we were ever here." He looked at the pretty girl. She nodded.

Percy got up as well, but he looked uncomfortable walking while the plane was still moving. "We need to get out of here as fast as possible. I think the authorities in San Francisco have already contacted them about the incident in the airport. We have to get out before they question us." He said.

"Carter, have you any idea how to get to the obelisk from here?" Annabeth peered at him. "Not really, but I know it's quite close to the airport." He thought back of the time they were running from the Set animal at the Washington Monument. Then, his eyes brightened, "I can scout around. Turn into a falcon." He said.

Annabeth nodded. "We will try out best to get past security." Just then, the plane lurched to a stop. Piper hurried to the cabin. The air stewardesses stood at the exit, the charmed one smiling at them, but the rest frowning. They tried to walk as slow as possible, so that Piper could catch up. It was excruciatingly long before Piper burst out from the cabin. "Don't you know there's no one here? We were never here! Forget about us." Piper's voice was layered with smooth charm. The stewardesses looked dazed and Carter plus the rest took the moment to bolt from the plane. They ran on the gangway all the way to the airport.

"Sadie, I'm going to scout. You try to lead them out of the airport as best as you can. Avoid security." Carter said to his sister. She nodded, for once not arguing. Then, Carter willed himself to turn. It was much easier now. A second later, Carter opened his eyes to find himself in the air. His super sharp eyes blinked and he could see everything. Carter gave his sister one last look before flying higher and spotting an open window.

As he flew out, he saw his friends hurrying past security. Then, Carter tried to remember how the Washington Monument looked like. Tall, grey and what else? He racked his brain. Oh, it overlooked the White House!

When he flew out, he was surprised to see the sky was dark already. What was the time difference? Carter's heart sank when he realised what it meant. They couldn't open a portal until tomorrow.

He forced himself to push the thought away as he used his sharp eyes to search for the monument as he circled in the sky. He didn't need to look long. There straight ahead of him, loomed the biggest obelisk ever built. It hummed with power. And further right, at the end of a long rectangular space was the White House.

Carter quickly dived back to the airport. Somehow, they had already gotten past security and were already out of the building. He tried to call out to them to get their attention. "Squawk!" was all the came out of his mouth. _Oh great. _

Thank goodness, Sadie spotted him. They followed him as he led them on, his eyes never leaving the monument. There was no moonlight, but Carter's falcon eyes had no problem seeing everything. He could see people walking in the streets. He could see every cloud in the sky. And he could see mice scurrying in alleys…

_Stop thinking about eating mice._ He scolded himself.

Carter brought his friends to the monument. The place was surrounded by flagpoles and it was lit up eerily in the dark. As his friends closed the distance, Carter flew lower and willed himself turn human again. It was a simple job and in seconds, he was walking on his feet again.

"Gods, I need to learn to turn as quick as you." Sadie muttered, next to him. Carter tried to hide a smile as he remembered her difficulties turning back to human in her kite form. It was rather hilarious.

"The Washington Monument. It is at least 555 feet high. The monument can withstand up to 145mph of blasting wind." Annabeth seemed to understand the building very well.

"Some things just don't change, do they, Annabeth?" Percy seemed to laugh with Annabeth for a moment, as if sharing a private joke. Then he turned serious.

"Watch out. We're pretty much trespassing." In the dark, Percy's face looked even more mysterious. They were cautious as they made their way to the door. It was locked.

"Oh, darn it." Jason muttered, rattling the door.

"We can't get in through here anyway. It might sound an alarm. Can you open the portal thing out here?" Annabeth turned to Sadie.

Sadie shook her head. "We can't open it till sunrise tomorrow. Portals can only be open at specific times." "Then, is there any place we can stay overnight?" Piper asked.

"The room up there?" Sadie asked hopefully.

"Up there? Any one of you can fly us up there?" Carter asked jokingly. He was shocked when Jason raised an eyebrow, "I can."

"You what?"

"I don't think I can take all of you at once though." He said.

"You don't have to take all of us. Sadie and I can fly." Carter said, quickly. He peered up at the monument. "See that? Yeah, that's the window to the room. I'll try to get up there and open the window first." Carter said. Jason nodded, "I'll take two people at a time."

Carter gave Sadie a quick look, "You can do it, Sadie." He said quietly. He knew his sister was still scared of not being able to turn back to human.

"Carter, I don't know…" She trailed off. She looked scared. Carter tried to put on his 'brotherly' smile, "I know you can, Sadie."

Then, he was a falcon again. He swooped upwards towards the window. The cool air rushing past him was very relaxing and he enjoyed it immensely. As he neared the window, his sharp senses told him that it was closed only three quarters. With a heave of his beak, he pushed the window up fully. It was enough to fit one person at a time. The room was pitch black, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

He dived down until Jason could see him and nodded as best as he could with his feathered head. Jason seemed to understand. He held onto Piper and Annabeth. His eyes were closed for a moment, and then he was floating up with them, slowly but surely.

_Jeez, is there no end to their talents? What next? A disappearing act? _Carter thought to himself.

Annabeth and Piper both looked tensed. Carter couldn't blame them. Their only lifeline now was Jason. If he should fall, well, things would be nasty. They made their way up to the window and Jason let Piper go in first, then Annabeth. "Go get the light or something." Jason called to them.

Carter watched as he dived back down to get Percy. He felt that the wind seemed to be helping Jason, swirling around him and helping him float. He swooped down lower to see Percy looking uncomfortable as he held onto Jason's hand. "I don't like this. I'm gonna be in Zeus' domain and if memory serves me right, things don't turn out right when I'm in the air." Percy was saying. Zeus was the king of all Greek gods, Carter thought. What was Percy talking about?

"Don't worry. I'm here. He wouldn't strike us down, trust me." Jason said, confidently. Sadie was still watching them. _Come on, Sadie! _Carter thought. He flew around her head to get her attention. "Oh, all right!" She grumbled. She closed her eyes and a second later, a black kite took her place. "Ha!" She said to him as she flew past him. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

When all of them had gotten into the room, Carter willed himself to turn human again. Sadie was right next to him in kite form still. She glared at him, as if to say "I told you!" Carter rolled his eyes, "Just calm down and think, Sadie."

The kite seemed to grumble and close her eyes. It took a bit longer, but soon Sadie was herself again, "Gosh, I don't want to do that again!" She snapped.

Carter glanced around at the room. It was as he remembered. There was just enough space for them all to cram in.

"We'll have to sleep on the floor." Annabeth declared. "Sadie, can you close the window please? Not all of it, leave a bit for the air to come in. Everyone, get your positions, we need to off the lights before someone sees us." Everyone scrambled to get a space on the floor. The boys took one side and the girls took another side of the room. Annabeth flicked off the lights and there was a sudden blindness.

"Guys, get some rest now. We have to get up before sunrise tomorrow to open the portal." Percy said next to him. Annabeth sat next to him. "I'll take first watch." She said, "In case anyone comes." She sat herself near the door and locked it.

Carter lay on the carpeted floor. "Good night, Sadie." He whispered. "Good night." Sadie answered. Carter thought he would fall asleep immediately, but he seemed too wired after that day's events. Appearing in an unknown place, going on a quest with strange people, his sister dying then coming back alive…

Annabeth's whisper broke the night's silence, "Percy, I really want to strangle you."

Percy stirred next to Carter, who pretended he was asleep, "Why?" He asked, teasingly.

"Do you know how long I waited to see you again? It almost drove me insane." Annabeth's voice seemed to break. Carter didn't understand. From the first time he met her, he saw her as a strong, wise person. What had happened between them, exactly?

There was a great amount of shuffling next to him and Carter watch Percy get up to sit next to Annabeth. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I knew you would wait for me. I'm sorry I took so long." Percy's whisper seemed muffled, followed by Annabeth's quiet sobs. Carter felt embarrassed for eavesdropping. The rest were asleep then, their snores gentle.

"You remember everything now, don't you? Gods, how I hate Hera." Annabeth continued after a while. Percy seemed to smile as he whispered, "That's nothing new. I don't have to remember everything, you know, as long as I remember you and what we've been through." In the dark, Carter could see Percy leaning towards Annabeth…

Carter was willing himself to sleep then. _You shouldn't listen! Go to sleep. _

And he did.

*…*…*

"Carter, get up now!" Sadie's voice made him snap open his eyes.

It was still dark. No sunlight streamed through the window. "What time is it?" He groaned. He turned and expected to see his familiar room in the twenty-first Nome, but instead he saw Percy. This made Carter jump to his feet.

"It's nearly sunrise. We need to open the portal." Sadie shook his arm. Carter rubbed his eyes. He realised that Annabeth had already got up and so had Piper.

No ba travel for the night? Well, that was something unusual for Carter, but he wasn't complaining. Who would miss an out of body experience in a chicken body that will leave the person absolutely exhausted the next day?

"Jason, Percy, get up!" Piper's voice broke Carter's train of thought.

"So, can we open the portal in here?" Annabeth approached him and Sadie.

Sadie nodded. "I can feel its power. Yes, we can." She watched as the two boys stagger to their feet.

Sadie closed her eyes. Carter watched his sister, somewhat envious.

Her eyes remained close for a moment. "I can't." Sadie snapped them open, "I think I need more power."

"What? Why?" Sadie never needed more power.

She turned on Carter, her eyes anguished. "I can feel the power, but it's faltering every once in a while. Too inconsistent to open a portal." Her voice betrayed her fear. _No! They had come too far to stop now! _ Carter reached toward her, "Take my hand. I may not be able to help you open the portal, but I can channel whatever energy I have." He nodded at her, hoping he looked confident.

The fear in Sadie's eyes subsided and it was replaced with determination. She took his hand. "You can do this." Annabeth said, next to Carter.

Carter followed Sadie's example and closed his eyes. The room was silent, except for the humming of the building. Sadie was right; the humming seemed to shudder for a moment before continuing. It was weakening with the rise of Chaos, Carter thought.

He could feel his sister's hand sweating. He seemed to have closed his eyes for a long time.

Suddenly, there was a sharp intake of breath from his sister. "Cairo, Egypt." She said, clearly. Carter could feel her hand shaking. He quickly tried to channel his energy, though he had no idea how to do that.

His sister seemed to know what to do though. Carter could literally feel his energy leaving his body through his sister's hand. Soon, he felt as exhausted as if he had ran without stopping for half a day.

A sudden wind made Carter snap open his eyes. The portal had finally opened in front of them! "Come on!" He called to his friends who just stood staring in awe. He gave them a little push toward the swirling tunnel of sand. Sadie had opened her eyes as well, but she looked dazed, as if she had just awoken from sleep. "Let's go!" Carter pulled Sadie along and together they plunged into the portal.

Carter felt as if he had turned blind in the portal. This lasted only for a moment. The next thing he knew, he was plunging down and he landed on someone. Ouch.

Carter got up, dusting off the fine layer of sand on him. He looked around him, his exhaustion forgotten. "Whoa." Percy stared.

Whoa was an understatement. The place looked as if it had suffered through war. The walls were broken and some parts of the floor had fallen in. There was no one about. The shops were closed and there was a jagged line parting the floor that suggested an earthquake had happened. But Carter knew better. The explosion that Apophis had caused was more horrible than he had imagined. Somehow, the life-sized replica of an Ancient Egyptian boat had survived, but part of its display glasses was smashed.

"Oh my gods." Sadie was even more shocked than him. Carter's heartbeat quickened as someone crossed his mind. _Zia, are you alive?_ His heart pumped quicker as he surveyed the destruction. The place was surrounded by tape which suggested the police had been here already. Did they find out about the ruined Heliopolis beneath them yet?

"Let's get to the door." Sadie was the one who spoke out loud. Her voice echoed through the deserted airport eerily. She made her way through the airport and found the maintenance door that Zia had once brought them to.

Carter took a deep breath. _What if I don't find anything in there?_ _What if Zia is dead? Or Amos?_ Carter forced himself to stay calm. He turned to Percy and his friends, who looked horrified. "Here's the entrance. Be careful." He warned.

"Sahad." Sadie spoke, her voice trembling. The broom cupboard that was beyond the door disappeared and a set of stone steps appeared. They seemed undamaged.

"Here we go." Carter overtook his sister. "Don't touch anything." He turned to his friends, repeating the same warning given to him by Zia long time ago. "The ceiling's pretty low, so we might need to crawl." Then, he walked down the stairs cautiously.

After what felt like forever, Carter finally got to the end of the stairs. Sadie immediately lit up the place with her staff. The chasm was right in front of them. There was supposed to be a plank for them to cross. But it was gone now and the statues that guarded them had toppled. There was no other way to cross, except if they fly. Beyond that… Carter was afraid what he might find.

"Jason, you know what to do." Carter turned to Jason. This was Carter's world now, and he knew he had to take charge. Jason gazed across the chasm. "Annabeth, Piper, come on." He took their hand and walked over to the edge of the chasm.

Carter took the chance to turn into a falcon as he watched Jason float over. He hoped turning into a falcon wouldn't be a habit he had to keep. Already, he could feel his mouth watering with the thought of mice and rats. Ugh.

Carter surveyed the place. The tunnel that they had taken the last time they came to visit Amos was intact, but some parts of it seemed to have collapsed.

After everyone had crossed the chasm, they continued the journey. Carter, in his human self, brought them through the tunnels. As he grew closer to the end of the passages, his heartbeat quickened. He started to walk faster and faster until he nearly broke into a run.

At the end of the tunnel, what Carter saw brought him to a stop so sudden Sadie bumped into him.

The tunnel had opened up into a big space that was once Heliopolis. The destruction was so horrifying. The once ancient city was in ruins. The stone slabs had fallen, statues had collapsed, and worse of all… people were lying around, dead.

The buildings had toppled, burying many people. Some parts of the ceiling had also collapsed. The whole place seemed like an empty stone cave now. The sight of it all lit up by only Sadie's staff was eerie.

"Oh no." Sadie's voice was barely a whisper. The sight of so many people lying unmoving brought bile to Carter's throat. This was what Apophis had done. The carnage was horrible beyond imagination. The tumbled rocks upon the dead bodies brought on such sadness and terror on Carter it threatened to overwhelm him.

They seemed to stand there for ages, staring on, but not really believing what they were seeing.

"The Hall of Ages…" Sadie spoke the thought that was in Carter's mind. He forced himself to push his horrified feeling away. They had both been in that room when the explosion occurred. Was the place safe? They had seen it being blown to pieces, but surely it was protected by some form of magic? It was a sacred room after all, Carter thought desperately. He couldn't imagine more deaths after all that he saw. He couldn't accept it.

Without waiting for the rest, Carter and Sadie raced down the remaining passages.

_Amos, Zia, please be alive._


	7. Chapter 7

**HEY, HEYY! Merry Christmas, guys! This chapter is kinda action-packed compared with my other chapters. It's my Christmas present to you guys! Please REVIEW after you have read. Pretty please? :) **

**I don't own PJ or the KANE CHRONICLES! **

**Carter**

Carter ran on and on, ignoring the tumbled rocks on the ground. They didn't stop him and he practically flew over them. His sister was even faster. She was ahead of him skirting around the debris quicker than the eye could see.

Then, suddenly Sadie let out a tiny shriek. Carter thought of the worse possible reason as he saw his sister disappear from his sight. He had never been this protective of her, had he?

"I'm fine." She said, as he rushed to her side. "I just tripped. It's nothing." But the fear in her eyes reflected Carter's own. "I'm scared, Carter. What if they're all dead?" Her sister's voice was choked with emotion. Carter felt more terrified than anything then. Seeing his sister like this? It was like seeing the universe upside down and living in a topsy-turvy world. Sadie was rarely like this, and _never_ so frightened.

"It's okay, Sadie." Carter pressed her head against his shoulder, feeling for the first time like a true brother. "Everything's going to be fine." He reassured her, keeping the desperation out of his voice. Slowly, he nudged her to her feet. "We have to keep going, Sadie. We will always find a way, no matter what happens." Carter wiped the tears off Sadie's face, and he tried to give her a smile (which probably ended up more of a frown). Her hair looked like a bird's nest and for the second time, she didn't give a witty response. _This is really different from the Sadie I know._ Carter thought.

"Carter. Sadie." Percy had approached them from behind. Carter could see sympathy in his eyes and for the moment, he was grateful for his support.

"I'm really sorry. I know how it feels to see your home destroyed." Percy sounded wistful, "But you got us, right? And we're willing to help you."

"Thanks, guys." Carter said, hoping he sounded sincerely grateful.

"But, for now, we need to get on." Sadie dusted herself. She sounded more like her normal self now, which relieved Carter to no end. "Come on, Carter." She held his hand. It probably should have been awkward, but he didn't feel it.

They didn't need to walk long. After a few minutes, they reached the replica of the real Sphinx. Well, it was the replica, but now it had been reduced to mere rubble. Carter and the rest walked on to the doors that would take them to the Hall of Ages.

The double doors were open and surprisingly still standing. As Carter rushed to it, his mind was filled with fear about what he would see. More damage, definitely, but who will be among the dead? As he ran, his mind was filled with endless possibilities, each worse than the last.

Then, Carter reached the doors. A startled gasp escaped his mouth as he saw what was beyond the doors. Even his frenzied mind had not prepared him for this. He stood motionless, staring with shock, till he heard his friends catching up from behind. There was an abrupt stop to their footsteps and the place suddenly seemed as quiet as a graveyard.

Their silence seemed to stretch for a lifetime, and then Sadie broke it.

"What is this?" her voice echoed eerily of the walls.

Carter tried to find his voice, to ATTEMPT to explain what he was seeing. But he couldn't. The room beyond was absolutely motionless. Not a soul was moving and there was not a single speck of dust moving in the air. Even the balls of fire in the room had been frozen. Their light casted long shadows over the motionless people. To Carter, it looked as if the room was caving in when time itself stopped. The falling slabs of stone were still in the air, and the people on the ground had their arms over their heads to brace themselves. They were all still like statues. Several other people had been trying to run from the room when they were frozen. But all of them had one thing in common- their mouths were all opened in a silent O.

Carter's heart lurched. The throne where the pharaoh had once sat had been tossed into the air, where it stayed still. And right under the floating throne was two figures Carter recognized. One was a beautiful girl who wore a look of dismay on her beautiful face. The other was a man in a leopard skin cape, whose one hand was stretched out, as if he had been in the process of catching something when he was stopped. "Amos!" Sadie gasped and rushed in. "Zia!" Carter unconsciously called out as well. He raced to the doors, his trance broken. The second he entered the room however, he felt his movements _literally_ slowed down. They were sluggish and when he tried to run, he felt like he was stuck in those slow motion parts of a movie. It was infuriating.

Sadie, then turned to look at him, her eyes wild. Then, Carter noticed something in front of her that almost made him scream in terror. As it was, Carter was grateful that his voice didn't sound like a mouse when he yelled. "Sadie, watch out!" and reached out for her hand to yank her back. His voice was slow mo too, but at least it was clear.

Sadie pulled the brakes just in time for Carter to yank her back. Breathless and almost out of his wits, he stared at the huge hole that was right in front of them. Another step and Sadie would have been gone forever. The hole seemed endless.

_It must have been the one the stupid snake created. _Carter cursed.

_Oh gods, this is the second time I nearly lost my sister in a single day! _

Carter pulled Sadie away from the hole carefully and made their way to Zia and Amos. He waved his hand at Percy and the rest, who were still at the door,to wait outside.

"Zia…" Her name escaped Carter's lips as he stepped to her side, leaving Sadie by Amos's side.

He put his trembling hand on her hair, stroking her hair. It was still as lush, though his stroking movements were extremely slow. _Zia, are you dead? Please, please don't be. _He begged, clutching her frozen hand.

_Car..ter…_

The sudden nudge to his mind made him jump. The voice was familiar, but it sounded weak and far away. _Carter…It's me, Zia. _The voice called out to his mind, a little louder. Carter stared instinctively at Zia's face, but it was still frozen.

_Zia? How is this possible? _Carter answered with his mind, feeling a little foolish.

_Shh. Amos casted this time spell when Apophis attacked. Amos tried to save us all. But now, the spell is breaking. You have to get the people out before it breaks completely and the ceiling falls on us all._ Zia's voice seemed to be getting stronger with every word and it sounded very urgent.

Time spell? No wonder everything has stopped. But as he thought that, Carter saw the dust in the air moving suddenly. He waved his hand experimentally and realized that it was no longer as slow. Things were speeding up. The possibility of that overwhelmed Carter. How can I get everyone out? There are too many of them! His mind fretted.

_Carter, get everyone out now! _Zia's voice snapped Carter to action. He _had to save _them. Slowly, a plan began to form in his mind. He didn't give himself the chance to doubt it, there was no time. He gestured to Sadie, who was looking grief stricken at their frozen uncle and then he made a dash to the door.

_Zia, I'll save you. _

"Percy, Jason, I need your help!" Carter blurted as he burst through the door. He explained the situation to them, who stared at him wide-eyed.

"Did you hear Amos as well?" Carter asked Sadie, who shook her head. Carter tried not to think about what that meant. Maybe he didn't have the ability to, his mind hoped, but he knew it was a lie.

"But how can I help with a time spell?" Percy asked, sceptically. "Yeah, I don't know anything about them either." Jason shrugged. Carter just smiled grimly, "No worries. Here's what you need to do…"

*…*…*

"Are you sure this will work?" Jason asked as he entered the room and started to pull the frozen people away from the unmoving debris over their heads. Carter and Jason were trying to situate most of the people away from danger. The spell was breaking quickly now and some of the smaller debris were falling to the ground.

"I hope so. Let's try to move them all to the door." Carter said, half carrying Zia.

"I don't know how long I will be able to keep the ceiling up. Not for very long, I think, so Percy has to move quickly." As Jason said that, there came a huge rumble to the room. The ground shook and the frozen debris moved. There was a ripple of power across the room and when it passed, disaster struck.

The ceiling started to fall and the whole room shuddered. "NO! Percy, NOW!" Carter yelled, trying to make himself be heard over the sound of the stones collapsing. Jason grunted next to him, and the falling ceiling slowed, but didn't stop. People started to stir all around them, groaning and screaming.

The room started rumbling. Carter grabbed Sadie who just walked past him, her staff held aloft. "Stay with me!" he yelled, hoping she heard him. She nodded curtly and stood by him, but she still helped move the people with her staff. As he watched the crumbling ceiling, Carter began to doubt his plan. Most of the people were out of immediate danger range, but will they recover fast enough to save themselves when everything around them collapsed?

_Percy, anytime now would be good_, Carter thought, desperately. 

*...*...*

Percy stood outside the door, his mind focused on his simple task. Find the river. So he explored with his mind, which was somehow attuned to anything to do with water. Slowly, he expanded it across the ruins. Suddenly, he heard it in his head. The flowing water of the river Nile. It wasn't as loud and gushing as Percy thought it should be, but it should be enough to do the trick, if he handled it well. He let the gently trickling water fill his entire mind...

All of a sudden, a nudge in his mind told him that the river was not the main water source. Surprised, Percy automatically searched for it. Underneath all the mud near the river, there was another trickling sound, much stronger than the first. It was water all right, and a lot of it. It seemed that the River Nile didn't shrink because there was lack of water due to climate change, but because the water underground couldn't fully penetrate the thick mud after several thousand years. If Percy could get all the water out, now _that_ would be something to witness.

He flexed his arm, grinning at the thought.

"You ready?" he peered at Annabeth, who was next to him.

"I was born ready, Percy." she retorted a little, determination flashing in her stormy eyes,

Percy grinned, "Then take my hand." he held it out and she took it in hers, a suppressed smile playing on her lips.

He closed his eyes and willed the river to rise. Then he forced the underground water to push itself out of the mud, out of the riverbank. The wrenching pain his gut told him that it was working. But it was too slow. After some thought, Percy threw his arm up like he was punching someone and the underground water followed, smashing a hole into the riverbank. Yes!

Percy imagined the water combining with the river. He imagined it churning and rising like a tsunami, moving towards him, slowly but powerfully.

Let's do this. He smiled, grimly.

*...*...*

A shocking cold that was blasted at Carter made him snap open his eyes. Gushing water was flowing all around him, dragging him and the other people out of the room. Carter fumbled and held onto to Zia and Sadie, who was spluttering next to him. Jason was still trying to hold the ceiling up by sheer will, but he was being pulled away by the water as well. He made his way up the steps and yelled to Carter, "Go, I'll stay here and try to hold the ceiling up for as long as possible." The look of determination in his eyes told Carter that he couldn't convince him otherwise, so he only nodded and tried to manoeuvre through the floating debris. As he did, he saw Piper half swimming towards Jason and she was shouting at him.

The river was churning all over Carter then and he had to use all his swimming skills to keep him, Zia and Sadie afloat.

"Carter?" Zia was stirring next to him. "Hold on tight!" Carter yelled, sounding relieved that Zia was awake.

"This is your plan?" Sadie yelled next to him, looking mutinous. Her hair was flat against her head and she looked funny. "Erm, yeah. Sort of, though I never expected the Nile to have this much water." Carter answered, trying not to look embarrassed.

Sadie rolled his eyes and grabbed his hand tighter. "It's a great idea, dummy!" She said, shouting over the water.

That surprising comment made Carter smile.

He watched as the water swept them out of the room. People were stirring, but they were too dazed to make sense of what was happening. By then, the entire place was flooded and it was getting harder to float.

"Everyone get underwater!" Percy yelled from somewhere, but no one could hear him over the roaring waters. Carter thought he misheard him. "Oh, forget it!" Percy bellowed once and immediately Carter felt a pressure pulling him underwater. He tried to fight it, but it was pointless. He held onto Zia and Sadie, but they were sinking as well. _No! _His mind yelled and he swallowed a mouthful of water. _Maybe I should turn into the avatar, _He thought as he shut his eyes, panicked. _Or maybe…_

"Carter. Carter, open your eyes." Percy's clear voice made Carter blink. Wow. Carter realised he was surrounded by people. Like a school of fishes. Even more surprisingly, they were all in a bubble. An elastic bubble it seemed, because the debris were ricocheting off it. Carter blinked to make sure he was not dreaming. The river was still rushing past them outside, but he could barely hear it. It was propelling the bubble forward rather quickly, in fact. Percy stood next to him, completely dry and he was grinning at him. Annabeth smiled, from his side, but she was wet thoroughly. "Nice going." Carter smiled. "Though I don't remember mentioning this." He gestured to the bubble structure and all the people crowding around them.

Percy grinned. "It's a go-with-the-flow thing. I like to modify."

"Jason!" Piper's voice came suddenly, from the crowd. "Where's Jason?" Carter's heart sank when no one answered.

No, I should have stopped him. Carter bowed his head, miserably.

"I'm here." Jason spoke and Carter's heart lifted as he saw the familiar blonde raise his hand in the crowd.

"We're so out of the ruins. Everyone, you can breathe now. We'll hit shore before you know it." Percy called out. Until he said it, Carter didn't even know he was breathing underwater! Zia and Sadie were still holding onto either side of his hand. "Carter, we're alive?" Zia sounded breathless with relief. She looked exhausted, but at least she was alive. Sadie on the other hand, snapped into action at once, "Where's Amos?" She asked.

Carter's mind was thrown into turmoil again. He hadn't seen his uncle since the river flooded the room. Where was he?

"Stay here, Zia." He told her. She nodded weakly, leaning against the wall of the bubble.

He tried to look for Amos in the crowd of people. He pushed through and finally he came to where everyone was crowding and looking at something. Murmurs rose and Carter's heart quickened.  
>"Carter, he's…" Sadie's broken voice from the circle startled him.<p>

He didn't care then. He slammed past the people to get a look, Zia forgotten. Protests were ignored and Carter burst through the throng of people to see Sadie's anguished face.

_NO, NO, NO. _

Trembling, Carter saw what they were looking at. His uncle was lying down, lifeless. His spectacles were lopsided and his face was pale. The leopard cloak around him was wet and no hieroglyphs glowed around the Chief Lector.

_Was Amos dead?_

**Ooh, a cliffhanger again! Let's see… Should Amos be alive?**

**Merry Christmas again and it will be LOVELY if you could review and tell me about this chapter. Please? ^^**

**Santa: What do you want as a present, my friend?**

**Me (Very modestly) :Santa, could you review my story? That would be great.**

**Santa*thinks: Oh, I don't know…**

**Me: Please? **

**Santa (Gives in) :Oh, ok. I will do it when I get back to North Pole, ok?**

**Me: YAY!**

**Haha. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, long time no see! No words can express how truly sorry I am for taking such a LONG time to write this chapter. The homework was just too much and it's still piling! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Percy**

Phew, the pulling-water-out-of-the-Nile thing sure was exhausting. The pain in his gut had been nearly too painful to bear, but he pushed it still. Then, when he saw how flustered and helpless the people looked floundering in the water, Percy knew they wouldn't survive unless he did something.

So he did something and created the enormous bubble they were in now. True, at first, Percy doubted that it would actually work, because he had never done such a big one before. But it worked, thank the gods.

"Percy." Annabeth's cautious voice startled him from his train of thoughts.

"Look."  
>Percy looked at the crowd gathering around. "No…" Carter's anguished voice could be heard as Percy tried to make his way through (It was extremely difficult, because it was too crowded and also because they were all wet and Percy wanted to avoid them because he was completely dry).<p>

Then, Percy saw the man. He looked dead and didn't seem like he was breathing. Sadie and Carter were next to him, kneeling. This must be their uncle, Percy thought. Annabeth followed him and she knelt next to him. She touched his neck.

Her eyes widened, "He's not dead." She felt for his pulse again. "He has a very weak pulse. He must get help now." She looked around, as if expecting help, but no one in the crowd offered.

Percy watched as Carter and Sadie's eyes were filled with a little hope. "Maybe I can do a healing spell." Sadie said.

"No, let us." A new voice came. Percy spun around. A man and five others were behind him, separated from the crowd. "We believe him. Unlike others, we do not deny the truth when it is in our face." He glared to the crowd, as if he meant them.

Murmurs rose and protests came. "Trust a Kane?" One of them yelled. "He probably brought this to us, messing with the gods!"

The man looked outraged, "Do you think he's stupid? A Kane he may be, but he is the most powerful magician we know! DO you think he would free the serpent and then waste his energy saving us? Think, my fellow brethren!" He snapped. Percy didn't understand much of the argument, but he knew the decibels of the noise were getting a little out of control. "Please, let's take this outside later." Percy called. "The bubble is fragile and if it should break, we're all doomed. So please keep it down." He tried to keep his tone light, but serious as well.

The ruckus quietened, but someone spoke up, "And who are you? Why are we in this accursed bubble? Is this some sort of dark art?" The crowd roared again.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Does this harmless little thing look like dark arts to you? I'm Percy Jackson and I'm trying to help you. Unless of course, you don't want that, I'll break this bubble and we'll drown together." He made his voice as threatening as possible, but he knew they were just scared. If he himself has woken up after being a statue for several days to be greeted by a huge wave of icy cold water and then be saved by a boy and an enormous bubble, he would probably freak out too.

The crowd murmured again, but there was no reply. So Percy took his chance to add, "We'll be out of here soon. So your questions can wait till then. For now, we're safe."

"Please, save him." Sadie pleading voice made Percy turn. The man who spoke before nodded to his companions and got next to Amos. "He casted a time spell and he opened a portal for both of us to escape. I think it was too much for him." Sadie said. One of the man's companion looked up after examining Amos. "Yes, child, he is greatly deprived of energy. He has used up nearly all of his own resources. I don't know…" She sounded doubtful.

"But we must help him!" Carter burst. "We can't just watch him…"  
>Percy knew he daren't say the word- die. "Can't you like transfer energy or something?" It sounded silly to Percy, but Sadie's eyes lit up a little. "That reminds me… Do you think we can use his secret name to heal him?" She asked the woman. The woman gave it a thought, "I think they usually use a wax figurine, but perhaps it's possible. Anyone got a wax figurine for healing?" She turned to her friends, who scrambled to look in their bags.<p>

"What's a secret name?" Percy blurted, out of curiosity.

"It's like your identity. It's you and your life, summed up into one word." Carter looked up at Percy from his kneeling position.

"Here." The woman handed Sadie a figurine. It was crudely done, but Percy could make out the shape of a man with no legs. "It's unfinished, but it's the best we can do at this moment. Do you want to do it? Because I have a companion here who can." The woman asked Sadie.

"No, I'll do it." She answered strongly. Percy supposed that if your secret name was really your identity and stuff, Sadie wouldn't want to just hand her uncle's name over to a stranger. She sat by her uncle and put a hand on his forehead.

Percy wondered what she was doing. Then, suddenly, sunlight shone through the bubble. They had reached the shore. The bubble bumped along the gentle waves near the shore.

"Here we go." Percy said, as he saw the familiar outline of the beach. He snapped his fingers and the bubble popped. It was a rather loud sound. Some people screamed as they fell into the shallow waters of the ocean, but Percy wasn't worried. It was so shallow it barely reached past his ankles. On the other side, Percy was careful as he made a water cushion under Amos, Sadie and Carter.

"Miami beach?" Annabeth stood next to him, smiling. Percy held her hand, "All weird things end up here." He said, echoing what Chiron had told him a few years back.

Sadie had been closing her eyes for a long time now. Her uncle was twitching and Sadie's eyebrows creased. "Come on, Amos. Don't resist me. I need to heal you."

The woman from before came splashing next to them. "Ha-tep." She spoke as she put her hand on his chest. Nothing significant happen, but Percy thought Amos seemed to relax and didn't twitch as much.

Everyone around him had gone ashore. Piper and Jason, both wet, approached him. "Man, don't do that again." Percy gave him a light punch as he remembered how everyone was yelling his name and no answer came for a moment.

"Do what?" Jason pretended to rub his shoulder.

"I thought you were dead." Percy was surprised at the warm look in Jason's eyes. They had known each other for less than two days but they seemed like old friends. Maybe we have more in common than I thought. Percy smiled.

"How can we get to you know where? The nome place?" Piper spoke. Carter's head snapped up. "Wait here." He walked into the shallow waters and closed his eyes. Percy watched anxiously and suddenly out of the blue, a boat appeared on the waves. It didn't look like much, but it surprised Percy. "You never told me you were a water kind of guy?" he commented. Carter grinned, "Well, we Kanes are unique. We can summon a boat at any time. It's a long story." he said. Percy looked at the reed boat. It was red and there were two torches burning at the front of it. Percy thought it looked eerie in the afternoon sun, bobbing in the open sea.

"We need to get on. But I don't know how many will come with me. We need their help." Carter sounded desperate. Percy knew the feeling of not being able to rally enough people to help when your loved ones are in danger. The feeling of that helplessness sucked.

"You are the only one who can convince them." Percy put his hand on Carter's shoulder, but Carter shook his head, "I don't know. They are too blinded with their hatred to my family to help us." His bitter tone made Percy wondered what his family crime was that was so unforgivable. But there was no time.

"You have to make them see sense. It will be the end of the world if we really need their help but don't get it. You have to try, Carter. Go on." Percy tried to sound more confident than he felt. Carter hesitated and looked at Sadie who was still crouched by Amos. His eyebrows furrowed. "I will do it."

Percy stared at the crowd which had gathered by the shore. They seemed to be glaring at Carter and waiting for an explanation.

Carter took a deep breath.

"Um. Yeah, guys. I know you are all waiting for an explanation. But my friends here don't mean you any harm. They are here to help us. To help us defeat Apophis." Carter started to edge closer to the scattered crowd as he spoke. A man approached him. "You keep saying we should help you. But how do we know that you can be trusted? Who are your friends? Are they monsters?" His voice was challenging but his quivering voice made Percy surprised.

Are they scared of us?

Carter was silent for a moment, but Percy could tell that he was trying hard not to lash out at that jerk. "No. They helped us and saved us, in case you forgot. And we are not on Apophis' side, I can assure you that. I am on your side, the side of the gods." This brought on an uproar from the crowds.

"We do not consider ourselves with the gods!" The man roared.

"But we need to the gods to help if we want to kill Apophis!" Carter snapped.

Everyone glared and Percy felt the tension. Uh oh.

Then, things got worse.

Sirens blared and Percy's head whipped around automatically. He hated those sirens. His many years of adventures with Annabeth told him this: When you hear sirens, RUN.

So, naturally everyone started panicking. "Come on!" Carter took the opportunity. Smart kid. "I have a boat. We gotta get on now!" The crowd looked from him to the oncoming police cars. They were more than one police car and they were closing in real fast. No way of escape.

"Come on!" Carter said, louder. Nobody wanted to fight with the police, so they all scrambled towards the boat. Somehow, the small reed boat was able to fit them all. Percy helped carry Amos to the boat along with Carter and Sadie.

"Come on!" Sadie said. Percy willed the waves to take them away. They moved painfully slow at first but soon increased speed. After several minutes, they could no longer see the shore. Everyone looked relieved. They must have had bad encounters with police.

"Let me." Carter said. "I can guide this boat back to the Nome, I think." He closed his eyes. Percy stopped the waves from propelling the boat, but he wondered how Carter was going to steer the boat.

Somehow, and Percy wasn't sure how it happened, but soon, the blue sky and the sea disappeared and they were in a blackish sort of world. They were on black murky water, moving fast, but not going anywhere. There was slithering noises and strange, whispery sounds. There was fog all around, making the place cold and chilly. Annabeth tightened her fingers around his arm. Nobody said anything, but Percy knew they didn't like the place.

It seemed to last for several minutes only. Suddenly, the noises and fog dissipated and the sunlight shone brighter than before. They were on a river, gliding along slowly.  
>"That was tougher than I thought." Carter wiped some sweat off his brow. He looked pale, but he smiled as he stared at something coming up by the river. It was a huge warehouse and it was surrounded by scraps and piles of metal junk. Percy thought it look odd, standing by the river.<p>

"Everyone." Carter turned to address the crowd. "Welcome to the Twenty-First Nome in Brooklyn."

**This chapter is a little short, but I would appreciate your reviews! So press the button below and tell me how this chapter was! I will try to update faster this time! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note**

**Hey. No, this is not an update, sorry! But i wanted to thank you all on your reviews! Yeah sorry about confusing you about the sirens thing. Haha, and i'm sure there will be plenty more of Zarter and so on! I just wanted to elaborate on something that Kitten1762 said. Yeah, i agree it is a bit weird because it looked all ready ro be a first person POV, but i wrote it in third person. So i wanted to ask if you guys want me to continue the story using third person or change to first person? I personally like first person POV but i wanted to make it Rick wrote his TLO and Son of Neptune. So yea... Tell me bout it kay?**

**Thanks! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, yeah I know what you guys must be thinking. "This person is not gonna continue!" So sorry about the really long delay. I really am. Stress is already building, but I managed to write this chapter. DO enjoy and REVIEW pls! Thanks. :)**

Carter stepped out of the boat, his face pale and sweaty. Percy couldn't blame him. He had been through so much, and now his uncle is at death's doorstep. Percy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He saw Sadie and the other two men helping to carry Amos out of the boat. Percy followed them. Amos looked too pale and he was shivering . "Put him down here. I have to perform the spell now." Sadie ordered, but there was fear in her eyes as her uncle was laid down on the ground. Sadie closed her eyes and started mumbling inaudible words.

When Percy turned his attention away from Sadie, he realised thtat everyone was still in the boat, except for his friends and a few others. Percy felt anger boil within him. Carter reminded him of himself, especially when he was accused of being the lightning thief. He knew what it was like to be shunned despite the fact that he was innocent. He didn't have to know the background story Carter had yet to tell him, but he knew that Carter meant well. He faced the people who were still on board the boat, "Please get down, guys. If i were you I wouldn't stay on that boat because something like this might happen." He knew he was being nasty, but they deserved it. Percy snapped his fingers and made a wave bump into their boat. It rocked dangerously and cries were heard. Annabeth shot him a glance and Percy nodded to reassure her. The boat stopped rocking and people started to move at once. " You said you were helping us! How dare you threaten us." A woman glared at him. Before Percy could say anything, a voice came, "Thank the gods! It's Carter and Sadie!" Percy whipped around to find a group of people who had just emerged from the house surrounding them. They stared warily at him and the other Egyptians. "It's all right. They have come to help us." Carter said, but he was interrupted with an urgent cry from Sadie, "Jaz, Jaz! I need you now." A girl ran to Sadie 's side, who frantically explained the situation to her. Annabeth slipped her arm around Percy's and he was glad of the comfort, which he had not felt for a long time. He caught a little of what Sadie said as the girl Jaz examined Amos. "I did my best... Won't wake...i used a healing figurine... Secret name too. But his mind wouldn't allow me in at all. I tried and i'm so scared..." Jaz tried to comfort her. "It's ok, Sadie. You did all you could. I will try my best now to help him." Then she whipped her head around, "Walt, get two others and help me carry Amos in now." Her voice told Percy things were not good. Walt or something, bounded over at once. He almost slammed into Sadie and he hugged her ferociously. Sadie blushed but she tried to hide by burying her face into Walt's shoulder. It only lasted for a second. Then Walt pulled away, smiling as he swung into action. "Felix, Julian, Come and help out!" Two other boys rushed over and together they hoisted Amos carefully into the house. Jaz followed behind.

Percy stared up at the junk house, wondering how they lived there. He looked beyond it, into the sky for a moment and realized that they was a mansion built right at the top of the junk house! Percy gaped, surprised. Wow.

"Come on, magicians, you have to see this for yourself, then you'll believe me. Please follow me to the library." Carter's surprising plead made everyone raise an eyebrow incredulously, even Percy. The important thing was in the library? Sadie, who was moving towards the house stopped and gaped, her eyes wide. "Carter... You mean..."

Carter nodded, serious. "I thought about what you said. There is nothing else here that could help defeat the monster." Sadie's face cleared then. "I can't believe you thought of it first." She managed a small smile. Then an understanding passed between them and Sadie hurried to the house. Percy just stared, curiously. Carter motioned for Percy to follow him. So he did. They climbed a stairs that wound all the way up to the mansion. The crowd continued murmuring but they actually followed. Carter stood before the door. He raised his hand and did a sweeping motion upwards. The door rose up too and it disappeared. "Come on in." Carter beckoned. Percy stepped through the door with Annabeth. The moment he stepped in, he felt nauseous and weak somehow. His vision blurred for a moment. The surprising gasps from his friends as well made Carter spin around. "What is it?" He asked, anxiously. One look at his friends and Percy could tell they felt the same as he did. "We are a little disorientated. A bit nauseous." Jason admitted in a dazed voice. Carter frowned, "Maybe you guys are not used to being in the Duat. And well, actually I have no clue... Do you need to rest?"

Percy looked at his friends. They shook their heads, "It's not so bad." Percy said, ignoring his headache. He had no idea why it was happening. But tthe moment was too critical for Carter to lose them now.

Carter nodded appreciatively.

The cedar beamed ceiling was four storeys high and it was held up by,stone pillars engraved with hieroglyphs. The place was decorated with a wide assortments of Egyptian instruments and weapons. There was a huge fire place, with a plasma TV above the mantel. And as Percy started across the room, he could see a terrace wrapped around the house through the glass window. There was even a swimming pool outside!

Carter led to straight on. They had no time to lose. Before long, they saw a huge double door in front of them.

He led them to the door. Both sides of the door were chained together with a lock. Carter didn't even blink; he did another gesture at the door. This time an eye like symbol appeared and the door was flung open. The chains broke and fell to the ground with a clank. He strode straight into the room. Percy followed cautiously, afraid that it might trigger another unpleasant feeling. Thank goodness, nothing significant happened, though Percy now had a rather splitting headache. He tried to ignore it as he watched Carter talk to a statue. After everything else, that actually seemed normal. The statue jumped out suddenly and brought out a book to Carter, who took it with trembling hands.

"Carter? thank the gods!" A catlike figure jumped out of nowhere and hugged Carter. She had such sharp cat features it was almost possible to see her walking on all for on the ground. Carter hugged her tightly. "Guys let me introduce you to Bast. She is a cat goddess."

Ah no wonder. Percy thought.

The goddess released Carter, her features sharp with anxiety. "I heard all about the explosion. I could literally feel the monster rising. The whole of Egypt civilisation should have felt the tremors." She glared at the group of magicians who to their credit, held her gaze. Carter nodded.

"But where is Sadie?" Bast looked around.

With a shaky voice but in hushed tones, Carter told her what had happened. Bast opened her eyes in disbelief. "Oh my god. Goddess. You went to San Francisco? And they…" She seemed to falter. Her eyes looked at Percy, Jason and Annabeth warily. "How is Amos?" She started pacing.

"He's not too good. Sadie is doing everything she can." Carter said honestly. He looked miserable. "Carter." Percy cautioned.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. Then, Bast finally noticed the book in Carter's hand. She turned chalky white. "You summoned the Book?" She stammered. Her hair stood up, looking just like a cat in fright.

The crowd behind them became silent. Carter nodded to Bast, "Tell them about the book, Bast." He nodded to the reluctant crowd of Egyptians. "There is no need to tell, I am sure. The contents of the book will only be clear and can be deciphered if the monster has truly broken free from his bonds. Even the youngest of magicians know this." Bast voice quivered.

Carter nodded. "So you guys need proof that the monster had risen? Here it is." He held up the Book. The crowd flinched. "Sarah Jacobi, why don't you be the witness?" Carter beckoned a woman, who stepped forward boldly. "If what i say i is true, will you help us defeat the monster？"

Sarah hesitated, but lifted her head up, "I will do what it takes to rid the world of the chaos." she replied, curtly. The rest murmured their assents, but a few still looked displeased and uncertain.

Carter nodded and beckoned Sarah to stand next to him. He took a deep breath, then flipped open the book...

…...

Sadie

Sadie blinked open her eyes. Still the same. Amos laid there, as white as paper. Jaz's eyes snap open as well. "I tried to transfer some energy into him, but something interrupted me. I cannot locate the source of it, but it's something dark." Her eyes flashed to Sadie's. She bit her lips, wondering what she could do.  
>Sadie had tried to get into Amos' mind in the bubble, but it was near impossible. Sadie was afraid that if she tried too hard, it would break Amos.<p>

"I think you should try again, Sadie. After all, you understand him better." Walt suggested.

Sadie frowned slightly, but she knew he was right. Somehow, she had to find a way, or Amos is as good as dead. She placed her hand gingerly on him, feeling his rising body heat.

She closed her eyes.

Amos.

Her mind wandered into the recesses of her uncle's brain. Memories flashed by but she was unable to catch any clear image. Then at the end of a row of images, she encountered the same powerful resistance as before. But this time, to her surprise, Amos was standing there, looking no worse for wear.

"Amos?" Sadie whispered, wondering if it was a dream.

Amos looked agitated, "Sadie, you should be helping Carter. Don't waste your time. I can heal on my own, Sadie." his voice made it impossible for Sadie to believe him.

She shook her head, "You are priority, Amos." She said stubbornly.

Her uncle took off his glasses in exasperation, "I am already using more energy to communicate with you. Don't do this, Sadie." Sadie understood him immediately. "Tell me how we can heal you." She said at once, ignoring his request. She had to save him.

Amos shook his head. "No. It will require too much from all of you. Give me a few months or maybe half a year, I may heal."

Sadie knew it was not true. How can someone live in a vegetative state for half a year? Ok, she may not be a doctor, but she knew that from his state now, he wasn't going to last. She was about to protest, when something dark and sinister began enveloping her, like what Jaz described. It was like thick, endless black fog. She couldn't see Amos anymore,and the black thing was swooping in on her. "GO!" With Amos' last shout, she was thrown out of his mind and she woke in reality, shivering.

**How was it? Review? :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, guys! The Serpent's Shadow is out! I read it and it was totally awesome. Walt and Anubis… Well, I shall not spoil it for those who haven't read. Anyway, here's my next chapter. Sorryyyyy for the long delay! :P**

**P.S. I don't own PJO or KC. Maybe that would change someday. Haha :)**

Sadie woke up shivering. For a moment, all she could see was darkness. But after a while, her vision cleared.

"Sadie? Sadie, thank goodness!" Jaz shook her. "You nearly made me jump out of my skin, waking so violently! What happened?" Sadie tried to remember, somehow, her brain was foggy. "I was talking to Amos. He refused to tell me anything. Then, some black fog enveloped me and threw me out of his mind." Sadie shook her head to clear it. Frustration poured out of her, "Amos blatantly refused to have me heal him. He said he would heal with time. But will he? And that darkness? It's chaos, isn't it? Gosh, I hate it!" Sadie wanted to break down and cry when Walt puts his arms around her. "It's gonna be fine." He soothed her and she put her head in his chest. "How can you say that when you are dying too?" Sadie made sure her voice was muffled up by his shirt so that he didn't hear.

Just then, Carter walked in. "What happened?" He stared at Sadie. She shook her head. "Later, Carter. Did you open the Book?"

Carter grimaced. "Yeah, I did. Thought you would want to see it." He offered her his hand to pull her up. "What does the Book say?" Sadie demanded, all thoughts about Amos pushed aside. She took his hand and he hoisted her out of Walt's arms. "You'll see. It's doesn't look like anything important to me." Carter looked crestfallen. "Let me decide on that one, brother." Sadie said, before taking the lead to the library, determined to get something right.

She reached and saw the magicians talking among themselves in loud voices. She forced her way through and found Bast, Percy and the rest surrounding the book which was surprisingly, in Sarah Jacobi's hands. "My kitten!" Bast hug crushed Sadie, but she was so glad to see her that she didn't care. Sarah didn't seem as pleased to see her. "You and your brother. Tiresome creatures." But she seemed shaken. Sadie ignored her comment and looked at the Book. The first page was open. Sadie's heart raced.

There was a spell there, that much she could tell. And after that, a small precaution. "Let those above remember them, and they shall not perish forever more." Sadie echoed. She was a bit disappointed, but as she read the spell, a light bulb lighted in her head. Her heart pumped with adrenaline. Suddenly, all seemed not at a lost.

"Carter, get here now." Sadie almost yelled.

The crowd silenced at her voice. Carter came running, "What?" He did a 360 as if he were expecting monsters. "Here!" Sadie waved. Carter blinked, confused. "Remind me. I know we visited Bes a lot the past few months. The gods there have been forgotten by the world above, right? That's how they ended up there?" Carter nodded.

Sadie's heart raced. "This could be it." She lowered her voice so that the watching crowd couldn't hear her. "This could be the spell to awaken the gods. To help them remember. So that they can fight on our side." Her excitement was building. Maybe, just maybe, this was a spell that could bring back their friend Bes. Carter's eyes flashed too. "We have to be certain before we tell the rebels." He whispered. "Can you understand the spell? Detect any runes that may give you a hint?"

Sadie tried looking, but nope, she couldn't decipher any of it. She turned to the next few pages, but they were empty, "They can only be deciphered and read at the right moment." She reminded Carter. "Can this be true?" Sadie turned to Bast, who shrugged. "I know more about can food than about spells, Sadie. But all I know is that whatever this Book tells you to do; you have to do it, No matter how crazy it maybe." Bast tried to flatten her puffy hair.

_Trust you heart, Sadie._ Isis' voice whispered in her mind. Instantly, Carter's head perked up too. "Horus…" He began, but Sadie nodded. "I know. We are right. You tell the rebels, I'll get to Percy and the rest." He nodded.

Sadie felt sorry for Percy and his friends who were trying not to look blur and completely out of place. "Hey guys. Yeah, you just missed an important convo back there." Sadie tried to sound cheerful.

Percy looked up, "Uh, really? Sorry, but I don't get any of this." He waved his hands around.

"The Book?" Jason frowned.

"The eons of hatred between you and these magicians?" Annabeth bit her lip.

"The impending horror of doomsday that doesn't scare these magicians into cooperating with you?" Piper put in.

"All in good time." Sadie quickly said. "But first, we are the good guys, ok? We want to save the world, but there has been a lot of disagreement between my family and these magicians."

Percy nodded, "We believe you are the good guys. Ok, so tell us."

" Right. The Book. The Book will help us slay the monster, Apophis. We are trying hard to understand its riddles." Sadie began pacing, feeling much like junior professor Carter. Urgh…

Annabeth's ears perked up. She was definitely brainy. "I have heard about the book before. Well, at least a bit of it. But, they say the book has been lost…. You mean that is the book you are holding now? The Book of Slaying Apophis?" Annabeth gaped. "Yes, why you have actually heard of it. Yeah so, the book gave us this riddle." She showed it to them. Percy frowned. "That sounds like a prophecy Rachel would make." Then, his eyes flashed. "How is Rachel anyway? I haven't seen her in ages." He turned to Annabeth. She shrugged, "She is coping well the Spirit of Delphi. She is at the Roman camp now, but I guess you didn't get a chance to see her."

Sadie was at a lost. "Wait, back to the Book? Yeah so, I was thinking about this place in the Duat…"

Percy held up his hand. "Explain first. What is a Duat?"

Sadie tried to explain as briefly as possible, "It's hard to describe. It's like an underworld. The spirits of gods are in there. We can use the Duat as a short cut to get to somewhere faster. There are monsters in the Duat. The really bad ones are deep down in the Duat."

They looked at her a little sceptically, "Ok. We believe you. So you were thinking about what?" Percy asked.

Sadie took a deep breath. "I believe that the first part of the Book is asking us to go and revive some forgotten gods in the Duat."

"Forgotten how?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Like people no longer talk about them, worship them in anyway. They just fade with time." Sadie's chest felt hollow as she remembered Bes.

Percy frowned a little. "I see your plan. You want them to be revived and be on your side when the monster attacks. But will they fight with you?"

Sadie tried not to let her doubt show. "They have to. So for now, we rest." Jason wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Bast. "I can arrange for you guys to ride on Ra's sun boat. It's my turn tonight to guard him against the monsters of the darkness." She said.

"Thank you, Bast." Sadie hugged her tightly. "So we have a few hours to rest."

Just then, Carter came to Sadie, looking agitated. "Most of them agreed to help us. But of course some of them are still stubborn. We don't need too many to go to the Duat tonight, so I shall assign some of them to do scrying and spread the news about the gods. But it is not safe to leave them here alone until we get their full alliance." Carter looked perplexed. "Let's do this then." Jason suggested, "You leave us here. All four of us. Sadie, you, Bast and Carter go to the Duat."

Sadie didn't seem too keen on it. "They might overpower you. They have numbers."

"I think we have faced worse, right guys?" Percy grinned at his friends. They nodded.

"It's all right, Sadie. We still have our fellow magicians, right?" As Carter spoke, Felix bounded up to him. "Felix!" Sadie said in relief. "Sadie, Carter, you're alive!" He hugged them both.

"That's settled then?" Carter smiled, "We will bring along two rebel magicians to the Duat tonight." But then his smile fell. "What about Zia? Should we leave her here?"

"I'll stay and protect the place. You guys go ahead." Zia appeared out of nowhere, looking tired, but much better than before. Sadie wanted to smirk at Carter's sudden dreamy expression but decided not to embarrass him in front of Percy and his friends.

"Right, since that's settled. Where's the toilet? I need to go." Percy said.

….

**Leo**

Things were not looking good.

First off, a visit from his egomaniacal godly babysitter, ordering his friends to go on a quest. What about me? Leo wanted to protest, but somehow he saw Juno mouthing something to him. It was either 'Stay at camp. You will be needed here.' Or something like 'Strayed at care. You'll be needling fear.' Probably the first.

Oh well, Leo thought moodily. This isn't the first time I've been left alone, right?

He walked away from the crowds, towards his Argo II, where no one would go near because of Festus' angry face. Oh and another horrible thing. The ship was busted up inside. Leo suspected Juno, but of course, there was no way to prove it. He had a lot more to fix up, but somehow he didn't feel like doing it then.

"Hey, Festus buddy. How is it up there?" Leo looked up at his dragon head. Festus' head swivelled down to look at him. "I do wish you could talk. I'm all alone again." Festus seemed to understand. He puffed some smoke down at Leo's face. "Thanks, buddy." Leo managed a smile.

"Hey." A voice came from behind Leo.

Leo turned to face the girl he had met earlier when Reyna introduced the recent quest members. What was her name again? Chestnut? Ah, right, it's Hazel. Hazel stared at him like he was a ghost, which made him uncomfortable. "Uh hey. Looking for me?" He tried to smile.

Hazel hesitated for a moment. "Yes. Well, actually I wanted to ask you something." She looked around nervously, but there was no one around. What was is that she needed to ask which no one could overhear? I mean, I just met her right? Leo's heartbeat quickened.

"Did you…Do you know someone named Sammy Valdez?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper.

**Please review! It will totally make my day! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Leo **

Leo blinked and racked his brain. Sammy… Sammy... Hmm. "I think it was my granddad. Yeah." He said, frowning. And there was something else to that memory…

"Granddad past away years ago. But he, he always talked to us and told us stories about this girl he used to date…" He had forgotten her name.

Hazel sighed. "Let me guess. Hazel Levesque?"

"Yes, how on earth-?" Leo took a step back, as the truth hit him. Hard. "That was you?" He choked out.

Hazel nodded. "That was me 70 years back."

"But how-you're supposed to be 70 over years old!" Leo gasped.

Hazel chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But before that, I had already died.."

"You-what?" Leo thought his jaw could drop no further. This is one weird girl with a weird history, he thought. Could she really have been the girl his granddad had always longed for? He tried to picture her and his granddad, but failed.

So, Hazel told him her story. About how she died trying to stop Gaia. How Nico saved her. "I have a photo of Sammy here." Hazel showed him. Leo nearly dropped it. "He looks exactly like me!" He touched his face.

"I know. I thought you were him for a second." Hazel smiled a little sadly.

Leo tried to cheer her up. "Wow, my granddad and I could have been twins!"

All of a sudden, they heard a really magnified loud voice. "Gather, Romans!" Hazel's eyes narrowed. "That idiot Octavian! Come on!" She pulled Leo. "He's gonna make the Greeks and Romans fight."

"Fight? But-"

"Let's go!" Hazel pulled him.

As Leo ran to catch up with her, he can't help blushing when he realised she was still holding his hand. She is kinda cute. He thought, grinning.

"Romans, let us witness today if the Greeks are actually worthy enough to fight by our side!" Octavian, the blonde dude yelled. Some of the Romans cheered, others hesitated.

The Greek and the Romans had formed a big circle. The Greeks on one side and the Romans on the other. Both sides looked agitated.

"Stop this madness!" Frank, the huge guy with the baby face yelled. "We won't fight, Octavian! This isn't about war between us! It's about us combining to stop Gaia!" Frank faced the Romans. "Cohorts, you will not fight," Frank began, but Octavian gave the huge guy a push that was not even able to make Frank move back more than two steps. "This is called a healthy competition! We are just fighting for fun. What is wrong with that? Why, Greeks? Afraid of a little challenge?"

What on earth is wrong with this guy! Leo yelled mentally.

The campers from Camp Half Blood roared. Leo ran in front of them. "Stop! He is trying to trick us!" But his voice was drowned by their protests. Leo was about to wonder whether he should try pulling out a mike or megaphone or something from his awesome toolkit pocket, when Reyna stepped in. "Octavian stand back!" She yelled. Her commanding voice brought silence at once. "What do you think you are doing?" She faced the blonde. "You have directly disobeyed the praetor's orders. Do you know no obedience, even as an augur?" Her voice made Octavian cringe a little.

"You never disallowed a little competition before, Reyna. We're just doing this once that's all. Just one fight, and then it will be over." His voice sounded persuasive, but Leo could tell he was going to make this one fight the most unforgettable one ever.

Leo could see the wheels in Reyna's brain turning. If she didn't allow Octavian to do this now, he would just find an excuse some other time to cause a fight again. "Very well, Octavian. One fight, no more. And it has to be a fair one." Reyna finally said. "And since you suggested it, why don't you fight? And you there." She pointed at Leo. "Get your gladius. One fight and end it all." Leo could detect a hint of mischief and rebellion in Reyna's eyes. She wanted to embarrass Octavian in front of everyone.

"Me?" Octavian stammered, so lost for words that Leo wanted to burst out laughing. "But this is about our pride and honour…"

"And you are telling me you are not able to uphold it?" Reyna's stern eyes made Octavian cringe again. "Anyway, this is an unofficial fight. You only represent yourself, not Rome." With that, Reyna swept her cloak behind her and went to talk to her comrades.

"Leo, take my sword and give that wimp a beating he will never forget." To Leo's surprise, Clarisse handed him a sword. For the past six months, not only have Leo been busy building the ship Agro II, but he had also spend quite some time sword fighting. Mostly with the campers like Clarisse, because Jason reckoned his way was unGreeklike. So Leo had suffered several months trying to hold the sword properly, parrying and blocking. He was never built for this, but after a few months, he started gaining some muscle. He could fight, not as well as Jason of course, but still not too bad. And now looking at scrawny Octavian, he was certain he could beat him to pulp.

Leo grabbed the sword. It was lighter than those he was used to, but the hold seemed perfect for him. He swung it experimentally and was satisfied. "Thanks, Clarisse." He said, figuring that she rarely lent her sword to anyone. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Bring him down, Greek style." Travis pumped him at the back.

Octavian had grabbed his own sword and he and Leo walked to the middle circle. "You Greeks think you're so good, don't you?" He flashed angrily.

Leo grinned easily, "What's to deny? We are." This made Octavian angrier than ever, but Leo longed for the fight. And he was completely at ease.

"Fight fair. This is just a friendly competition. Begin!" Reyna shouted.  
>Leo's eyes burned.<p>

_Wartime, baby._

…

**Jason**

Jason stared warily.

They sat in a big circle. All of them, most of the trainees except Sadie and Carter, who had gone to prepare for the night and look after the rebels.

"So." Jason said, trying to lighten the tense mood. "Shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Jason." He spoke.

"Percy."

"Annabeth."

"Piper."

"Walt." A guy with a gaunt face but a build-up body smiled wearily.

"I'm Felix." A boy who looked no more than nine grinned as he played with a stuffed penguin.

"Alyssa." A girl smiled.

They continued until everyone had called out their names. Jason could only remember a few.

"Right. So now, the most important thing is for us to understand everything that has been going on here. Can you summarise everything that might be important if we needed to help you?" Percy said.

"Everything?" Walt raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, as much as possible. We have a lot to learn." Annabeth agreed.

So the trainees started. The headache that Jason had gotten ever since he had stepped in to the mansion increased. "Ok. Let's stop here. What did you manage to catch?" Walt paused.

"So you guys have gods like us Greeks. Geb is the earth. Nut is the sky. And Horus is the son of Isis and the most possible successor to the throne. Ra is the sun god and is now senile. You guys saved him but unfortunately he has not been renewed. Uh, what else?" Jason racked his brain.

"Gods can have a human host. The host can choose whether to let the god control him or to share the mind with the god. But most of the time the god will take over." Annabeth mused.

"The House of Life used to allow their trainees to learn the ways of the gods. But they have forbidden it and now they are after you guys because you practice it." Percy offered.

"And there is this Apophis who is chaos. Ma'at is order. Apophis is now awakened and he threatened to swallow the sun, which is Ra." Piper said.

Walt was about to say something, but suddenly a voice interrupted.

_Yessss, and swallowing the sun will be so easy._

The house shook and rumbled.

Percy jumped up and Jason followed warily. The voice echoed throughout the whole house. _Well, well, what have we here? Carter, Sadie, why have you taken such desperate measuresss? _The snaky voice laughed and it was almost deafening.

Carter and Sadie came running into the room. "It's the stupid snake." Sadie hissed. "But it can't penetrate the house." Carter said.

Jason frowned. How can they defeat something that has only a voice?

_Don't be so sure about that, Carter Kane. _The snake laughed loudly. _This is only a fragment of my consciousness, unlike the full appearance that I had made in The First Nome. _

"Go away!" Felix, the young boy waved his stuffed penguin at the source of the voice. The rest of the group had also gotten up, looking agitated. But the snake just continued laughing and laughing, as if taunting them because it knew that they couldn't do a thing.

Jason gripped his the hilt of his gladius which was still sheathed at his belt. He hated this monster instantly. It sounded exactly like Gaia.

Piper was frowning next to him, "Just leave this house. Now." Her voice was shaky, but also filled with power and command that Jason felt like running away too.

_What? You dare? _The snake actually seemed bewildered.

"Leave now!" Piper's voice rose to a powerful yell and it resonated throughout the whole house. Several trainees actually moved unconsciously but managed to themselves. Then all at once, the horrible feeling that the snake had brought along with its presence disappeared.

Everyone turned on Piper. "Piper, you are awesome!" They all exclaimed at once. She blushed. "There was just this really horrible feeling that the monster brought on, like a feeling of despair and horror. I just ordered it go away." She shrugged modestly. Jason smiled at her, "You're always so humble, Piper." He felt like kissing her then, staring at her beautiful face which she had tried to hide with her choppy brown hair and her tattered clothes. But it didn't matter. She still looked stunning.

Piper blushed at his gaze.

"Let's go check on the rebels. They're probably scared out of their wits." Carter said to the trainees. They nodded and followed Carter and Sadie.

"Hey guys, do you think it's time to IM and check on Camp?" Percy asked.

"IM?" Jason scratched his head. "Like, uh instant messaging?"

Jason could tell Percy was trying not to laugh, "It's Iris-Messaging. But I think it will be difficult to create a rainbow here." He looked around.

"I saw a fountain at the entrance. But there's no sun." Piper offered.

Annabeth smirked a little. "Get me a glass and a piece of paper."  
>Everyone stared at her. "What?" She demanded. "I'm trying to make a rainbow. Come on!" She got up and almost sat back down when a sort of baboon appeared in front of her. Small one, but it looked really mischievous.<p>

"Gah!" Piper stepped back and Jason steadied her. He stared at the baboon and it stared back. Then, it started jumping up and down and pointing somewhere on the other side of the house.  
>"Uh, I think that it's trying to tell us something." Jason said.<br>"Follow the baboon, everyone?" Percy looked at them. Jason shrugged. "Let's just do it."

So they followed the hyperactive baboon. Jason felt a little idiotic.

"Argh!" The little baboon pointed to the kitchen, which they were approaching. Jason didn't understand, but Annabeth gasped. "It's bringing us to find a glass." She went in and in an expert manner, threw open all the cupboard doors in less than a second.

"Found it!" She grabbed a tall glass and tore out a piece of paper from the memo pad on the kitchen counter. "Argh!" The baboon looked pleased with itself, which seemed a bit weird. Annabeth ordered Percy to fill up the glass, which he did simply by flicking his wrist and water from the sink filled the glass up instantly. Annabeth produced a flashlight from her bag and she put the flashlight through a big hole in the paper which she had made by tearing it. Now the flashlight looked like it had white neck brace.

"Uh.." Jason was going to say something, before Annabeth flashed the light at the water and it reflected off the paper. A rainbow appeared! Jason blinked.

"Annabeth, you are forever awesome." Percy said, amazed. Annabeth smiled but somehow it didn't touch her eyes. She took out a golden coin, or drachma, as Jason had learned it was called, and threw it into the glass without disrupting the rainbow. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Camp Jupiter." Annabeth spoke.

The coin disappeared into the rainbow, and Jason had to blink to make sure his eyes weren't tricking him.

The glass showed a shimmery image of the camp. Surprisingly, it was Reyna who saw them. She blinked, shocked. "It's ok, Reyna. It's just an image." Percy spoke.

"Percy?" Reyna said, her eyes still wide. "Is that you?"

"Yes, just wanted to check on camp. How are you guys? Where's everyone?" Percy leaned closer to the glass. Jason felt a little jealous that he wasn't being recognised. _But that's not fair. You haven't been around for ages. _His mind said.

Reyna gave a small weary nod towards something. "Oh they're fighting." She said.

…

**Leo**

Oh well, he knew underestimating his opponent beforehand was not very smart.

Octavian turned out to be just a bit better than what Leo expected. They circled each other before Leo attacked, trying to test him out. Octavian blocked his attack easily. Leo slashed at him again. This time, Octavian managed to block it and even counter with a jab to his gut with the butt of his sword.

Leo winced.

Octavian grinned and they circled each other. Leo observed him and realised that his every move was watched closely by Octavian. Analysed, in fact. Leo swung his sword and tried to think of a way to defeat this guy. He tried not to look as desperate as he felt.

Then, an idea popped in his head. A desperate measure, considering Leo hadn't really successfully tried it out before. But, what the heck, he figured. He swung his sword and tried to look confident. This was one move that he had watched Jason do when he was fighting the giant Enceladus. Leo had tried improvising on it many times over but somehow never managed to get it right.

Well, now would be a great time to try it out and hopefully get it right, he thought. Or I'm a goner.

Determined not to think of the 101 ways this could go wrong, Leo feigned a stab to Octavian's left. He fell for it, as Leo was sure he would. Taking the opportunity, Leo hit Octavian's head with the butt of his sword. Ouch. Octavian staggered away. Then, Leo raised his sword again, but pretended to let his guard down, as if too tired to continue. The dazed Octavian took this moment to try to run his sword through Leo. Leo dodged, and with all his senses going into an overdrive, he slid underneath Octavian's legs, coming up neatly behind him. Before the blonde augur could even turn, Leo slashed his sword at his back. It drew blood, but that didn't bother Leo. Octavian turned, his eyes burning with anger.

_Too late, _Leo thought. With a mental scream that resounded in his mind, Leo tackled Octavian and slammed him to the ground. In barely seconds, Leo had somehow kicked aside Octavian's sword and his own was at Octavian's neck.

Octavian, breathing angrily, stared daggers at him.

Leo smiled. Then, he stared at himself and realised that he was heating up. Steam was evaporating into the air and Octavian was sweating buckets. No harm done with a little heat, Leo thought, mischievously and decided to raise his body temperature even more.

The instant change in Octavian's expression was almost hilarious.

"Well done!" Reyna's voice came, loud and clear. Leo looked up, surprised. He had even forgotten the crowd! There was silence for a moment, then the Greek part of the campers started cheering. Even some of the Romans joined, though others didn't look happy.

Reyna, looking stern, but also slightly pleased came over to Leo. "You may release Octavian now. You have done well, Leo." Then, she turned to Octavian, "I believe that now you will know how much you need to brush up on your sword fighting, Octavian. Don't just spend time in the temples." Leo thought he detected a hint of hatred and sarcasm in her words.

Octavian growled, "Let me go, you idiot. You're burning like you have a high fever."

Leo released him and grinned. "Hey, anytime you want a rematch, I'm in." That ticked Octavian off. Before he walked off, he gave him one last glare, "I'm watching you, son of Hephaestus."

Somehow, those few words made a shiver run down Leo's spine, but he just said, "Sure, dude. Call me anytime when you want to heat things up a little." Octavian turned and stomped off.

Leo turned the other way and Reyna was right behind him. "I would like to apologize for Octavian's rashness. He is rather short-tempered and is always trying to prove himself." She seemed to be choosing her words very carefully, but her apologetic tone seemed genuine enough.

"I'm cool. Just that, let's not try that again, shall we?" Leo said, in a light tone. Reyna nodded. "I do not believe that you Greeks will harm us. We need each other to fulfil the prophecy of the seven."

"Yes, I am-"

"Leo!" Clarisse's voice came. Leo stopped short. Reyna nodded at him then walked away.


	13. Chapter 13

**HEY so sorry it has been so long, the year has been really busy ! And Mark of Athena has been out for quite some time XD But here's chapter 13 finally ! :)**

**Sadie**

Sadie was absolutely fidgety as she stepped into the boat. Her guardian seemed to sense her anxiety. "Relax, Sadie. I'm here and I'll protect you. Nothing will harm you." Bast said, protectively. Sadie tried to smile. But she still couldn't suppress her feeling of terror as stared at the boat. She had died before. What would happen if she went back in the Land of the Dead again?

Carter reached out for her. "I won't let anything happen to you." He promised. She tried to smile and took his hand and stepped into the boat.

Sadie got into the boat and immediately she felt woozy. Her brain was shutting down involuntarily and she couldn't think. She stumbled and Bast caught her. "Are u all right?" she asked warily. Sadie tries to fight her drowsiness but a dark cloud had already settled on her mind. "I'm just sleepy. I think I'll just lie here for a bit…" she sat down wobbly and put her head on Carter's shoulder. Her eyes closed. "Sadie, don't sleep." Carter shook her. Her clouded brain ignored him. Then, a stinging smack could be heard and Sadie felt the pain on her cheek. Her still conscious part was outraged. _He slapped me!_ She tried to use that small part of her to wake up, but her brain refused.

"Just let me sleep!" Sadie snapped somewhat irritated. She then gave up entirely on fighting the drowsiness and drifted off to sleep.

And possibly to her death.

_Sadie, why did u return?_ Anubis voice could be heard echoing in the Hall of Judgment but he was nowhere to be seen. The Hall looked terrible and Sadie closed her eyes to block the view.

"Anubis!" She cried. "I had to..."

_No, you have to leave soon, Sadie. _His voice spoke in her head now. _Your soul__shines differently here in the underworld because you were dead before. Your presence will cause others to feel unjust and rebel. You have to go._ Anubis warned.

"What?" Sadie was bewildered. "But I have to help them. I have to stay and read the spell."

Anubis sighed in her mind. _Sadie, I know. But you can only stay till the fourth house. You cannot go through the cycle._

"Then how will I return to the mortal world?" Sadie frowned.

_About returning, ask a favor from your father._ Anubis voice faded. _Now awake and fight this drowsiness that may claim your life._

And Sadie woke in Carter's arms.

"Sadie, oh my gods. Don't you ever sleep again." Carter gripped her tightly. "Carter." Sadie's head was groggy. "How long was I out?"

"Quite some time actually. I wanted to turn around but this stupid boat didn't know reverse." Carter looked away, and his voice trembled." I was afraid that the deeper we get into the Duat, the further you were lost. But what happened?"

Sadie told him about Anubis. "But where is Bast?" she asked, not seeing the goddess on the boat.

Carter bit his lip "She scouted ahead .Well, you have to make the decision now."

"Now?"

He pointed at the approaching house. "Because we're here."

"Sadie, what happened to u?" Bast helped her down and then pulled her into a hug. She stared at pale-faced Sadie. "Nothing." Sadie shook her head. "I'll tell u later."

They stepped into the house and instantly, Sadie felt sorrow wash over her. Just like it always did when she came here for the past few months.

Tawaret, the goddess of childbirth was standing by the counter staring wistfully at her patients. When she saw her guests, she approached them. Bast stepped back so that she was behind Carter and Sadie. She pretended to be busy with her sharp finger nails.

"Tawaret." Sadie greeted her. The goddess just smiled sadly. "Chaos has been released." She said. It was not a question, but a statement which she seemed to have resigned to. "Yes, but I have the Book." Sadie said and explained what had to be done.

Tawaret's eyes widened. Sadie could see hope in them, but the goddess tried not to show it, "Are you sure, Sadie? I have so long stopped hoping." Her thick lips quivered. "We don't know." Carter answered for her. "But we have to try."

Sadie turned to the patients. They all looked so sad. Their faces were so lonely, so confused and so lost. The forgotten gods. Sadie walked over to where Bes sat, his eyes far away. "Bes." Sadie took his hand. Bes didn't even look at her. His eyes were staring at something no one could see. "Bes, I'll bring you back." Sadie laid his hand back down gently. Carter nodded at her. "Where do you need to be?" He asked. Sadie frowned. "The Book didn't say anything like that." Then again, the Book barely gave her enough hints for anything.

"I'll just be in the centre of the room." Sadie said. "Now, the Book?" She was beginning to feel like her old self.

Carter reached for it in his backpack and handed the Book to her. It had shrunk into the size of a mini diary, but when Sadie touched it, it became its normal size again.

She opened it and took a sharp breath. The words were clear to her now. Sadie no longer had any doubts. They were in the right place.

Sadie closed her eyes. Then, she opened them and began chanting. Slowly, she could feel the Book heating up and humming with magic. She walked around the room as she chanted. It was a short spell, but it was powerful, because each word felt stuck to Sadie's tongue and she had to speak slowly to enunciate the words properly. She finished the last line. "_Awake and serve Ma'at._" Then, dramatically, the whole place became completely dark. Pitch black. There was no sound at all and Sadie tried hard not to breathe loudly.

Suddenly her eyes caught sight of something flying into the room. A lot of things, to be precise. Golden meteor like objects flew past her and they seemed to fly straight into the bodies of the gods. The golden glow gathered at their hearts, and then it spread throughout their entire body. The golden meteors lit up the room and soon there was one blinding flash of golden, before everything became normal again.

Sadie blinked. The gods were stirring around her. Her gaze landed on Bes, who still hasn't moved. Then, he slowly turned to her. "You…" He spoke, his usually cloudy eyes were now cleared and sharp.

Sadie wanted to cry. "Yes, it's me. It's Sadie, Bes."

Carter was by her side at once. "They're disappearing!" he gave a cry of alarm.

Sadie tore her eyes away from Bes and saw that her brother was right. The gods were disappearing one by one. No, more like teleporting one by one to another place. "Have they healed?" Sadie asked Bast who was approaching her. Bast nodded, "I feel their presence. They know what to do."

Behind them, Tawaret rushed forward to hug Bes. He was the only one left. "Bes!" She sobbed. Bes blinked, then he smiled. Sadie had never been happier to see his hideous grin. "About time, kiddo!" Bes tried to glare at her.

"I'm sorry I was late." Sadie smiled.

"We have to hurry to get past the fifth gate." Bast warned, her eyes away from Bes.

"Oh, hurrying to go back to the surface again? Man, it's déjà vu!" Bes grumbled.

Sadie took a step forward and hugged him. "Go now, Carter." She said when she pulled away. "No, I'm staying with you." Carter insisted.

"It's hard enough to ask dad to send me back alone. You just go back first, okay? I'll be along soon." Sadie tried to reassure him. "Wait. What did I miss?" Bes frowned.  
>Sadie gave him the short story. "I was dead. Came back alive. And now, I'm going to cause unrest if I go through the cycle, so I can only go back if my dad helps me."<p>

Bes was stunned for a moment. Then, he tried to joke, but his thick eyebrows were knitted together in a deep frown. "That's a lot. See, I can't even turn my back around for a few months!" Bes said, joking half-heartedly. Sadie could see he was absolutely horrified.

"I know. Bring them back, Bes." Sadie gave him another hug and Bes clutched her tightly. "This time I'll bring all of us safely back to the surface." Bes promised fiercely.

Sadie smiled, a little somber, "I know, Bes."

…

**Annabeth**

Annabeth let out a breath of relief when she saw Leo finally brought Octavian down. _Those weeks of training did do him some good,_Annabeth thought wryly. To her surprise, the corners of Reyna's lips were lifted up when she came back into view of the IM. _So she didn't want that blonde to win._ She thought.

"I'm sorry. But I just needed Octavian to know he can't challenge authority in any way he pleased." Reyna explained. "He won't be calling on a fight any time soon."

Percy gave a small laugh, "He sure won't. He won't forget about this so soon."

Reyna grinned wider, "I definitely hope so. Other than this fight, the camp is fine. How's your mission so far?"

So, Annabeth watched Percy as he told Reyna about their findings quickly. Reyna nodded as she listened, her eyes darkening. She was saying something when the image blurred and somehow static could be heard. "An interruption."Annabeth said aloud. She watched as Reyna tried to speak again and the image completely disappeared.

"What just happened?" Jason wondered aloud. The dread inside Annabeth grew. "I think the gods don't want to allow us to contact other civilizations." Annabeth said. Percy frowned. "Maybe you're right. It's not appropriate."

_Maybe. But I believe it's my mom who is doing this._

**HOW was it? :)**_  
><em>


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